Gaofen-2
Gaofen-2 is a high-resolution Earth observation satellite providing both panchromatic and multispectral imaging capabilities.
Technical specifications
What you can do with Gaofen-2
Detail at 80cm GSD
At 80cm GSD, buildings, road networks, field boundaries and mature trees read clearly, while street-level objects do not. The panchromatic band carries that geometry, and the 3.2m GSD multispectral bands are pansharpened against it, so colour products hold the same detail.
Standard index bands
Blue, green, red and near-infrared cover the everyday products: true colour, colour infrared, and the indices built from red and near-infrared (NDVI) or green and near-infrared (NDWI). Those index rasters carry the 3.2m GSD multispectral sampling, not the 80cm GSD panchromatic figure.
One satellite collecting
Collection rests on a single spacecraft, so opportunities arrive on its orbit rather than on demand. As stated by the supplier: Less than 5 days at 23° off nadir. That is the cadence to plan against; a cloud-free result usually takes more than one opportunity.
Wide strips
The swath is 45km at nadir, so a large area of interest is covered in few strips. Fewer strips means fewer joins to match, and less time spread across one delivery.