The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) announced today (August 21) that it will launch a multispectral optical satellite at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu with Chang Guang Satellite Technology Company Ltd (Chang Guang) this Friday (August 25). The satellite "HKUST-FYBB#1" will be used for tracking remote sensing data related to global environment, disaster and sustainable development. As the first university in Hong Kong to initiate a satellite mission, the launch also marks HKUST’s first step towards building a remote sensing satellite constellation and a comprehensive environmental monitoring and disaster forecasting system.

The multispectral optical satellite set to be launched this Friday for research purposes is the most advanced type in the realm of civilian satellites. The spatial resolution of the remote sensing images it collects is 0.5 meters, which is 20 times higher than the openly accessible data of images taken from the European Space Agency‘s Sentinel-2 optical satellite. Its swath of image is over 150 kilometers, comparable to those of the latest generation of the United States’ land satellites.

As an expression of gratitude to Mr. Francis YIP Chi-Hung and his wife, Mrs. Catherine YIP NG Bun-Bun, for their generous donation and support for the launch, the satellite is named "HKUST-FYBB#1". HKUST will first use the data collected by the satellite to establish a digital twin system that covers all slopes in Hong Kong for the monitoring of their surface conditions, as well as the simulation and showing of the process of landslide disasters and societal responses to emergencies. This is done in the hope of enhancing coordination and decision-making in disaster response and management.

HKUST signed an agreement earlier with Chang Guang, the first commercial remote sensing satellite company in Mainland China. Apart from the launching of “HKUST-FYBB#1”, HKUST and Chang Guang will venture into a long-term, extensive and multi-facet collaboration in satellite research and development for carbon emission and its data application.

Combining HKUST‘s scientific research capability and achievements in meteorology, oceanography and environmental protection, as well as remote sensing data obtained from Chang Guang‘s 108 orbiting satellites, which form the world‘s largest sub-meter level commercial remote sensing satellite constellation “JiLin-1”, the parties are set to build a comprehensive environmental monitoring and disaster forecasting system. The system aims to provide scientific data in support of the nation’s dual carbon policy goals, namely peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. It also seeks to enhance the country‘s remote sensing technology – a cutting-edge technique involving the collection of electromagnetic radiation information from space or higher altitude on Earth‘s surface, as well as the processing and imaging of such data for the identification and understanding of the Earth‘s environment and resources.