Carrying a meteorological satellite, Fengyun-II 07, a Long March 3 rocket lifts off from southwest Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 13, 2012. Photo courtesy of Xinhuanet.

....days after the orbiter was successfully launched on January 9th to produce high-resolution imagery for civilian use. According to a statement released by the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation, the administration has made hi-res imagery based on analysis of the data and posted it on tianditu.cn, a map website made by the administration with independent intellectual property rights. The visual data covered an area of 210,000 square kilometers that included the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian, said the statement. The image quality produced from this data is even higher than that achieved by overseas satellites with the same resolution, said the statement, adding that ongoing tests on the satellite might further improve its image quality.

The satellite is expected to compete with its foreign counterparts that currently dominate the country's hi-res remote-sensing and mapping market. According to the center, the satellite is tasked with offering services to aid the country's land-resources surveys, natural-disaster prevention, agriculture development, water-resources management, and urban planning.

[SatNews] China successfully launched meteorological satellite Fengyun-II 07 at 8:56 a.m. Friday....

....from its southwestern Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Capable of providing continuous meteorological monitoring and sending maritime and water resource data, the satellite is expected to play an important role in weather forecasting and disaster reduction.

Developed and produced by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the orbiter will collect data for the China Meteorological Administration. The Long March 3A rocket that was used to carry the satellite into space is a product of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, another CASC subsidiary. Friday's launch marked the 157th Long March rocket launch.