China's first civilian stereo mapping satellite, ZY-3, will be launched at the end of the year.
The announcement came from Song Chaozhi, the deputy director-general of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geological Information, at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China on last week.
The satellite will contribute to the improvement of the update speed, condition and accuracy of China’s maps, including a continuous revamp of the western 1:50,000 primary scale topographic maps, and the variation of terrain, landform, the earth's surface and the surface features.
China is developing more surveying and mapping satellites, such as the gravity satellite and the radar satellite, after ZY-3 to ensure the information can be received in any weather condition, increasing the availability and accuracy of the mapping data.
