ZY-2 is the second in the series of Ziyuan remote sensing satellites. ZY-2 will be used primarily in territorial surveying, city planning, crop yield assessment, disaster monitoring, and space science experimentation. Remote sensing experts point out that the successful launch of ZY-2 signifies advancement of Chinese technologies in this field. They also believe that applications of remote sensing satellites will help push the national economy forward. Meanwhile Taiwan has expressed concern with the ZY-2 launch.
Taiwanese media reports that their defense department is monitoring the progress of the mission.
Unnamed Taiwanese intelligence officers were quoted as saying that all previous Chinese remote sensing satellites had image resolution of more than 10 meters, which had little military value. If the image resolution of the ZY-2 imagery is less than 5 meters, the satellite would have military applications in terms of photoreconnaissance. These intelligence officers speculate that ZY-2 employs a digital imaging system instead of using photographic emulsions as in previous remote sensing missions. In these missions reentry capsules returned the exposed films to Earth for processing and analyses. Xinhua News Agency did not disclose details of the ZY-2 payloads and their specifications following the launch.