Yaogan-47 Remote Sensing Spacecraft Placed Into Sun-Synchronous Orbit [Long March 4B Y64]

Another satellite for imaging Earth below is in space, this time in a lower orbit relative to others this year.

The Long March 4B Y64 vehicle lifting off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on December 9th 2025.

At 11:41 am China Standard Time (03:41 am Universal Coordinated Time) on December 9th, a Long March 4B lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying a single spacecraft towards sun-synchronous orbit.

The singular spacecraft being launched was Yaogan-47 (遥感四十七号卫星) remote sensing satellite from the China Academy of Space Technology, whose press release focused on twenty years of resilient work culture cultivation. Once commissioned in orbit, the spacecraft will be used for land surveys, crop yield estimation, environmental management, urban planning, road network design, as well as disaster prevention and mitigation.

Yaogan-47 follows two other remote sensing satellites launched in recent months, with Yaogan-45 and Yaogan-46 being delivered to a medium Earth orbit in September and November. Those satellites opted for a higher orbit and longer imaging time at the expense of resolution, while Yaogan-47 will have near-constant sunlight while imaging Earth below.

The patch for the Long March 4B Y64 launch mission on December 9th 2025.

For today’s launch mission, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology says that this launch campaign used a compressed and optimized preparation process. That reportedly saw multiple meetings between teams to ensure risk reduction and quality management, while preparing for launch in an orderly manner.

Like a Long March 6A a few hours earlier, this mission also had to be adapted to low temperatures before launch, with protective devices like insulative materials or heaters installed where needed. Those devices had to be resistant to Jiuquan’s sand and dust too.

Today’s launch was the 54th mission for the Long March 4B, the 114th launch for the Long March 4 series, the 252nd Long March vehicle launch from the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, and the 614th launch of the Long March launch vehicle series. This was also the 82nd launch from China in 2025.

Liftoff video via PhilLeafSpace and 航天五线谱 on Weibo.

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Check out the previous Long March 4B launch

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What is the Long March 4B?

This section is for those less familiar with China’s Long March series of launch vehicles.

The Long March 4B is an older generation low Earth and sun-synchronous orbit workhorse of the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology. All three stages of the rocket burn Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine, with no engine restart capability.

The payload capacity of the launch vehicle is currently as follows:

• 4,200 kilograms to low Earth orbit

• 2,800 kilograms to a sun-synchronous orbit

• 1,500 kilograms to a geostationary transfer orbit

The Long March 4B Y64 vehicle during first-stage flight from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on December 9th 2025.

The first-stage is powered by four YF-21C engines, which generate 302 tons of thrust burning Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine. The second-stage is powered by a single YF-22C engine and four YF-23C verniers that generate 80 tons of thrust while also burning Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine. The third-stage is propelled by two YF-40 engines that provide 10 tons of thrust by once again burning Dinitrogen Tetroxide and Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine.

On the launch pad, the Long March 4B is 44.1 meters tall and weighs 249,200 kilograms when fully fuelled. The first and second-stage have a diameter of 3.35 meters, while the third-stage has a diameter of 2.9 meters, and a fairing diameter of either 3.8 or 4.2 meters.

So far, the Long March 4B has flown from all three inland launch sites, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, and the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

The Long March 4B first-stage heading to the launch pad and its fairing being placed atop of the launch vehicle on the launch pad.

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