Early on August 10, Earth observation satellites for the Jilin-1 Earth observation satellite constellation and six additional payloads were launched atop a Chinese Chang Zheng 6 rocket. Liftoff occurred at 04:50 UTC from Taiyuan and was confirmed to be a success after deployment. The target orbit for the 16 satellites was a 535 km sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).
The Jilin-1 constellation is China’s first remote-sensing satellite constellation made by a commercial company, and the first satellites in the Jilin-1 constellation were launched in 2015. The company that is operating the constellation is the Chang Guang Satellite Technology Corporation, which is a subsidiary of the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics, and Physics.