Chinese satellite project aims to give smartphone users fast access to cameras in space
- Luojia-3 01 is to be launched in July to test new technology the team says will enable a live stream from orbit with a delay of no more than 10 minutes
- This type of service is only accessible in the war rooms of the most powerful nations, but chief designer says the plan is to offer it to anyone for free
China plans to launch a satellite in July to test a new technology that aims to give smartphone users almost instant access to high-definition cameras in space, according to scientists involved in the project.
Wang Mi, a professor of remote sensing engineering at Wuhan University and chief designer of the Luojia-3 01 satellite programme, said the technology would mean an area or event could be live-streamed from orbit to a mobile device on the other side of the planet – with a delay of no more than 10 minutes.
That type of service is at present only accessible in the war rooms of some of the most powerful nations.
But Wang said the programme aimed to offer this access to anyone for free. “We will open the service to users around the world,” he said on Friday.
The Luojia-3 01 is unlike any other satellite that has been launched.
It is an Earth observation satellite with a powerful telescope that can capture images or video with 0.7-metre resolution – meaning it could be used to identify the make of a car from an altitude of 500km (310 miles).