| Ziyuan 3-01 | |
| Mission Type: | Earth observation |
| Operator: | Ministry of Natural Resources |
| Cospar Id: | 2012-001A |
| Satcat: | 38046 |
| Mission Duration: | 4-5 years |
| Manufacturer: | CAST (spacecraft) CIOMP (payload) |
| Launch Mass: | 2630 kg |
| Launch Date: | 9 January 2012, 03:17:00 UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Chang Zheng 4B Y26 |
| Launch Site: | Taiyuan, LC-9 |
| Launch Contractor: | SAST |
| Orbit Epoch: | 9 January 2012 |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric orbit[1] |
| Orbit Regime: | Sun-synchronous orbit |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 505 km |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 512 km |
| Orbit Inclination: | 97.4° |
| Orbit Period: | 94.65 minutes |
| Apsis: | gee |
Ziyuan 3-01 or ZY 3-01 (meaning Resources 3) is a Chinese Earth observation satellite launched in January 2012. It is a high-resolution imaging satellite operated by the Ministry of Land and Resources of the People's Republic of China.
The Ziyuan 3 satellite was constructed by the China's China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), and carries three cameras produced by the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Machinery and Physics. A camera aligned normal to the Earth's surface will produce images with a spatial resolution of, whilst the other two, offset at 22° forward and aft, have spatial resolutions of .[2] In addition to the three cameras, Ziyuan-3 carries an infrared multispectral spectrometer, with a spectral resolution of .[2] The satellite is used to provide imagery to monitor resources, land use and ecology, and for use in urban planning and disaster management.[3] It had a mass at launch of . The satellite has a planned operational lifetime of 4 years with a possible extension to 5 years.[4]
Ziyuan 3 was launched by a Long March 4B carrier rocket, flying from Launch Complex 9 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. The launch occurred at 03:17:00 UTC on 9 January 2012, and was the first orbital launch of the year.[5] VesselSat-2 was launched as a secondary payload on the same rocket.[6]