Long March 4B | Zi Yuan-2 02 xing

JB-3 2 was nominally a Chinese (PRC) remote sensing satellite, although US intelligence sources indicated it had primarily an intelligence imaging mission. JB-3 2 was the name adopted by the USSPACECOM. Most news reports from China and elsewhere use different names: ZY-2B (acronym for ZiYuan-2B, translated as Resource-2B), and Zhong Guo Zi Yuan Er Hao, translated as China Resource 2. No information was available on the instruments onboard the JB-3 2, but officially it was intended 'for territorial survey, environment monitoring and protection, urban planning, crop yield assessment, disaster monitoring, and space scientific experiments'.

Mission Details

  • Launch date: October 27, 2002 at 03:17 AM UTC
  • Launch vehicle: Long March 4B
  • Operator: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
  • Launch site: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
  • Mission type: Earth Science