FSW-0 Imagery Intelligence
China realized the importance of recoverable satellites long ago. As early as 1965, China included recoverable satellites in its satellite series program as an important part of the planned development of satellites. Designed to support both military and civilian Earth observation needs, the FSW (Fanhui Shi Weixing, i.e., Return Type Satellite) program began in 1966. Recent Chinese descriptions of the program have shed new light on the FSW series. In 1967 Prof. Wang Xiji, who had returned from the United States, Sun Jiadong and others, submitted a feasibility report to the government on the development of experimental retrievable satellites. This project was soon approved and experiments begun.
China's earliest model of retrievable reconnaissance satellite was called "remote-sensing general survey satellite." In international practice, the tasks of reconnaissance satellites are divided into general surveys and detailed surveys. General surveys have a low resolution ratio but cover a large scope, while detailed surveys have a high resolution ratio but cover a much smaller scope. The "general survey" satellites had a takeoff weight of 1,800 kilograms.
Their satellite pictures are characterized by their large scale, clear pictures, high gray scale, and wide vision. For instance, after processing and analysis, the photos taken from Beijing, Tianjin, and Tanggu areas provided plenty of information concerning water resources, land use, forest reserve, coastal conditions in the 55,000 square km region and found out the areas of farmland, water resources, forest, saline land, dust bowls, and eroded land in 47 county units and their per capita farmland areas.
This recoverable film-return imagery intelligence satellite experienced an initial launch failure on 05 November 1974. On 26 November 1975 a Long March-2 launched China's first retrievable satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center. Ten days later the Xian ground control station commanded the satellite to reenter in the recovery zone at Liuzhi, Guizhou Province in southwest China. Although the outer part of the reentry vehicle was damaged on reentry due to defective materials, the imagery intelligence hardware and film was not damaged and the mission was judged a success.
The first-generation visible light reconnaissance camera developed in China was carried on the first retrievable reconnaissance satellite launched on 26 November 1975 and retrieved three days later. Since cameras used on satellites demand virtually fault-proof reliability and above-normal resolution ratio in addition to special capabilities, such as the ability to withstand vacuum, low temperature and violent vibration at launch, they are very difficult to design and produce and only a few countries are capable of producing them.
The original FSW-0 variant completed nine orbital missions during 1975-1987 after the maiden launch failure in 1974.
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