Yaogan refers to a series of Chinese

Chinese space program

The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration . Its technological roots can be traced back to the late 1950s, when the People's Republic began a rudimentary ballistic missile program in response to perceived American threats...

 reconnaissance satellites launched

Rocket launch

A rocket launch is the takeoff phase of the flight of a rocket. Launches for orbital spaceflights, or launches into interplanetary space, are usually from a fixed location on the ground, but may also be from a floating platform such as the San Marco platform, or the Sea Launch launch...

 in the early 21st century. The satellites were developed and designed at Shanghai Academy of Space Flight Technology (SAST) or China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), subordinated the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has a number of subordinate entities which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic and tactical missile systems, and ground...

(CASC).

Chinese media describe the satellites as intended for "scientific experiments

Scientific method

Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...

, land survey

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

, crop yield

Crop yield

In agriculture, crop yield is not only a measure of the yield of cereal per unit area of land under cultivation, yield is also the seed generation of the plant itself...

 assessment, and disaster

Disaster

A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...

 monitoring", but Western

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

 analysts suspect that they are also used for military purposes

Military satellite

A military satellite is an artificial satellite used for a military purpose, often for gathering intelligence, as a communications satellite used for military purposes, or as a military weapon.-Description:*Star Wars program...

. Analysts believe that each satellite employs either optical

Optoelectronics

Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that source, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, light often includes invisible forms of radiation such as gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared, in addition to visible light...

 or synthetic aperture radar

Synthetic aperture radar

Synthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...

 (SAR) sensors and that the SAR satellites are of the Jian Bing-5 series.

The SAR satellite was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Space Flight Technology(SAST). The electro-optical digital imaging satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology

China Academy of Space Technology

The China Academy of Space Technology is an organizational unit of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation .CAST designs and manufactures Dong Fang Hong satellites.- External links :...

(CAST). It is carried into space atop a Chang Zheng (Long March) rocket.

Yaogan satellites have been launched from both the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center

Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center

The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center also known as Base 25 , is a People's Republic of China space and defence launch facility . It is situated in Kelan County, Xinzhou Prefecture, Shanxi Province and is the second of three launch sites having been founded in March 1966 and coming into full...

 in China's northern Shanxi province and the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is a People's Republic of China space vehicle launch facility .The facility is part of Dongfeng Aerospace City , and is located in the Gobi desert, Ejin Banner , Alxa League , Inner Mongolia, situated about 1,600 km from Beijing.- History :It was founded in 1958,...

 in China's northwestern Gansu province.

Three satellites of Yaogan 9A, Yaogan 9B, and Yaogan 9C were launched together with a Long March 4C

Long March 4C

The Long March 4C, also known as the Chang Zheng 4C, CZ-4C and LM-4C, previously designated Long March 4B-II, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It is launched from the Jiuquan and Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centres, and consists of 3 stages...

 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, on March 5, 2010.

Yaogan 11 was launched with Long Merch 2D from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, on September 22, 2010.

Yaogan 1 is believed to have broken up around February 4, 2010 almost four years after it was launched. Because of the small number of pieces and low orbital speeds, it was likely due to an internal explosion, not a high-speed collision.

Launches

Name	Military designation	Launch date	Believed type	Approximate orbit	NORAD ID	International code	Contractor	Launch site	Launcher
Yaogan 1	JB-5-1	April 27, 2006	SAR Synthetic aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...	635-637 km, 97.9 degrees	29092	2006-015A	SAST	Taiyuan	Long March 4B Long March 4B The Long March 4B , also known as the Chang Zheng 4B, CZ-4B and LM-4B is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. Launched from Launch Complex 1 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre, it is a 3-stage rocket, used mostly to place satellites into low Earth and sun synchronous orbits...
Yaogan 2	JB-6-1	May 25, 2007	Optical Optoelectronics Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices that source, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics. In this context, light often includes invisible forms of radiation such as gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared, in addition to visible light...	639-663 km, 97.9 degrees	31490	2007-019A	CAST China Academy of Space Technology The China Academy of Space Technology is an organizational unit of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation .CAST designs and manufactures Dong Fang Hong satellites.- External links :...	Jiuquan	Long March 2D Long March 2D The Long March 2D , also known as the Chang Zheng 2D, CZ-2D and LM-2D, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It is a 2-stage carrier rocket mainly used for launching LEO and SSO satellites. It is mainly launched from areas 2B and 2S at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center but can be launched from China's...
Yaogan 3	JB-5-2	November 12, 2007	SAR	635-637 km, 97.8 degrees	32289	2007-055A	SAST	Taiyuan	Long March 4C Long March 4C The Long March 4C, also known as the Chang Zheng 4C, CZ-4C and LM-4C, previously designated Long March 4B-II, is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It is launched from the Jiuquan and Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centres, and consists of 3 stages...
Yaogan 4	JB-6-2	December 1, 2008	Optical	642-660 km, 97.9 degrees	33446	2008-061A	CAST	Jiuquan	Long March 2D
Yaogan 5	JB-8-1	December 15, 2008	Optical	494-501 km, 97.3 degrees	33456	2008-064A	CAST	Taiyuan	Long March 4B
Yaogan 6	JB 9-1	April 22, 2009	SAR	518-519 km, 97.6 degrees	34839	2009-021A	SAST	Taiyuan	Long March 2C Long March 2C Long March 2C , or Chang Zheng 2C as in Chinese pinyin is a member of the Long March 2 rocket family, an expendable launch system operated by the People's Republic of China. This vehicle was developed by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and the first launch occurred on November 26,...
Yaogan 7	JB-6-3	December 9, 2009	Optical	630-666 km, 97.8 degrees	36110	2009-069A	CAST	Jiuquan	Long March 2D
Yaogan 8	JB 9-2	December 15, 2009	SAR	1200-1212 km, 100.5 degrees	36121	2009-072A	SAST	Taiyuan	Long March 4C
Yaogan 9A, Yaogan 9B, Yaogan 9C	unknown	March 5, 2010	Optical/SAR/ELINT	1089-1107 km, 63.4 degrees (Orbit of Yaogan 9C)	36413, 36414, 36415	2010-009A, 2010-009B, 2010-009C	CAST	Jiuquan	Long March 4C
Yaogan 10	JB 9-3	August 10, 2010	SAR	629-627 km, 97.8 degrees	unknown	2010-038A	SAST	Taiyuan	Long March 4C
Yaogan 11	JB 6-4	September 22, 2010	Optical	670-625 km, 98.0 degrees	unknown	2010-047A	CAST	Jiuquan	Long March 2D
Yaogan 12		November 9, 2011		unknown	unknown	2011	CAST	Taiyuan	Long March 4B
Yaogan 13		November 30, 2011		unknown	unknown	2011	SAST	Taiyuan	Long March 2C
Table data sourced from previously cited references and