Hong Kong-designed satellite to help pre-empt natural disasters after successful launch
CUHK satellite funded by city’s Innovation and Technology Commission and supported by mainland Chinese authorities launched off Shandong coast
A satellite blasted into space last week will gather data from across southern China to help plan for natural disasters and the construction of smart cities, according to its designers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
The university said on Monday the satellite was designed to forecast natural disasters such as landslides and floods, as well as to perform other functions to further scientific research for Hong Kong’s sustainable development.
Professor Kwan Mei-po, director of CUHK’s Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, highlighted how the project would allow Hong Kong to receive critical information more efficiently.
“In the past, when we needed to obtain data on certain incidents, we had to make requests to the China National Space Administration. It required more time and such data was not always available,” Kwan said.
“This satellite will serve as a more steady source of information as it is our own.”