EO·Atlas
Gaofen-1 (GF-1)
Gaofen-1 (GF-1) is the first flight unit of China's Gao Fen high-resolution Earth observation programme, operated by CNSA. The satellite launched 26 April 2013 into a sun-synchronous orbit at approximately 640-644 km altitude with a 10:30 descending equator crossing.[1][2]
The satellite carries two imaging payload types. The Panchromatic and Multispectral Sensor (PMS) delivers 2 m panchromatic and 8 m multispectral resolution imagery with a 60 km swath, supporting detailed land observation for crop monitoring, land cover mapping, and disaster damage assessment.[3] The Wide Field of View camera (WFV) provides 16 m multispectral resolution across a combined 800 km swath from four cameras, enabling wide-area vegetation monitoring and timeseries change detection.[4] A four-satellite formation with GF-1B/C/D reduces revisit from 41 days to approximately 4 days combined.[1][2]
CEOS EO Handbook records GF-1 as operational with an extended status through to at least December 2025.[1] WMO OSCAR records an earlier expected end-of-life;[2] current operational status after that date has not been formally confirmed from authoritative agency sources.
All fields
| current status | extended |
| operator | China National Space Administration |
| launch vehicle | casc-long-march-2d |
| Launched | 2013-04-26 |
| orbit type | Sun-synchronous orbit, 640-644 km altitude, 10:30 descending equator crossing |
| revisit days | 41 |
| tasking supported | false |
| current geographic priority | Earth resources, environmental monitoring, land-surface observation, precision agriculture, and disaster prevention. |
| Last updated | 2026-06-14 |
| claim status | agency-sourced |
Compositional position
- [1]CEOS MIM mission summary: GF-1agency doc-2026-06-14
- [2]WMO OSCAR satellite record: GF-1agency doc-2026-06-14
- [3]USGS system characterization report on Gaofen-1agency doc2021-01-012026-06-14
- [4]WMO OSCAR instrument record: PMSagency doc-2026-06-14
- [5]WMO OSCAR instrument record: WFVagency doc-2026-06-14