“The focused seminar begins now.” At 9:30 AM, inside the Jilin Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., a small red horse paper-cut on the office window glitters brightly.
Satellite designer Qu Youyang, born in the 1990s, sits with colleagues in front of computers—one displays remote sensing images and analytical data transmitted by the “Jilin-1” satellite, another records discussion notes, and a third modifies and debugs plans.
As the seminar concludes, the R&D team exchanges New Year wishes, “Wishing everyone a joyful and prosperous new year!” Having worked here for eight years, “three images” outline Qu Youyang’s growth journey.
The first image is of increasingly clear and precise remote sensing imagery.
What can a satellite capture from 500,000 meters high? Qu Youyang pulls up a photograph. Roads, houses, and even the tracks on a playground are clearly visible. “Right here is the northernmost post office in our country by geographical location,” Qu Youyang says, pointing to a small building in the image.
In October 2015, the first four satellites of the “Jilin-1” constellation, developed by Chang Guang Satellite, were successfully launched, marking the beginning of China’s commercial space industry. Qu Youyang joined Chang Guang Satellite in 2018. The welcome from the company’s chief engineer was brief: “Make the satellites controllable, control them stably, and further improve the quality of satellite remote sensing services.” At that time, basic “controllability” of the satellites had been largely achieved.
“To achieve ‘stable control,’ we needed to equip the satellites with an ‘intelligent brain,'” Qu Youyang explains. At an altitude of 500,000 meters, even a slight attitude jitter of a few arcseconds can cause the optical camera’s pointing to deviate, affecting image quality.
Analyzing trajectories, determining when to change speed, calibrating component positions… After countless tests and corrections, the image quality of “Jilin-1” has continuously improved. The positional error between the actual shooting point and the planned shooting point for a single scene image is now less than one meter.
The second image is a nighttime color photograph.
While talking, Qu Youyang steps out of the office and points to a nighttime color image on a large screen in the hall. It shows the night view of the Changchun Ice and Snow World—red, yellow, and green lights divide the park into distinct small areas. At the bottom of the image, neon lights spelling “Ice and Snow Wonderland, Right Here in Changchun” are clearly visible.
“This nighttime color image was captured by the ‘Jixing’ Gaofen-07 satellite this past January. The image resolution is better than 0.5 meters. This is a ‘first’ for domestically produced commercial satellites,” Qu Youyang recalls. “When the photo was transmitted back to the ground, the entire control center erupted in cheers.”
To achieve the high-resolution night light remote sensing plan, the team developed a high-dynamic-range ultra-stable attitude control technology. Combined with a series of camera optimization techniques, this significantly enhanced the satellite’s light sensitivity, enabling the capture of high-definition color satellite images at night.
The third image is a photograph of a postdoctoral admission certificate.
Approaching noon, instead of heading to lunch immediately, Qu Youyang goes out to retrieve a package. “These are the professional books I ordered. As soon as they arrive, I can’t resist flipping through them first,” he says with a shy smile. “Now, I am a postdoctoral researcher.” In 2021, with the company’s support, Qu Youyang pursued an on-the-job doctorate at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, further focusing his research on integrated satellite-ground systems.
As the number of satellites increased, young employees at Chang Guang Satellite gained more opportunities to take on significant responsibilities. “After two or three years with the company, one could potentially become the subsystem lead for a satellite,” the chief engineer noted. Qu Youyang became the subsystem lead for the “Jilin-1” infrared satellite series in 2021 and for the “Jixing” Gaofen-07 satellite in 2024.
As of this past January, Chang Guang Satellite has cumulatively developed and launched 226 satellites. The “Jilin-1” satellite constellation has captured a total area of 166 billion square kilometers. Satellite images, transmitted from space across day and night, now serve multiple industries including agriculture, forestry, and surveying.
“In the new year, I will continue to strengthen my learning and practice, contributing effort and creating value in the new field
