{
  "id": "yaogan-34",
  "name": "Yaogan-34 optical satellites",
  "aliases": [],
  "domain": "space",
  "country": "CHN",
  "category": "Military optical reconnaissance satellites",
  "status": "in-service",
  "fielded": null,
  "operators": [
    "CHN"
  ],
  "summary": "Chinese government optical remote sensing satellites, likely also used for military reconnaissance.",
  "specs": [
    {
      "k": "orbit_regime",
      "v": "LEO",
      "src": [
        "gsp-yaogan-34"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "sats_count",
      "v": 4,
      "src": [
        "gsp-yaogan-34"
      ],
      "conf": "medium",
      "note": "2021–2023"
    },
    {
      "k": "first_launch",
      "v": 2021,
      "src": [
        "gsp-yaogan-34"
      ],
      "conf": "medium"
    },
    {
      "k": "on_orbit",
      "v": 3,
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Payloads with current element sets in the public catalog, active or not."
    },
    {
      "k": "active_sats",
      "v": 3,
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "medium",
      "note": "Count in the CelesTrak active satellites list, which estimates operational status."
    },
    {
      "k": "perigee_km",
      "v": [
        1041,
        1049
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    },
    {
      "k": "apogee_km",
      "v": [
        1129,
        1137
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    },
    {
      "k": "period_min",
      "v": 107,
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    },
    {
      "k": "inclination_deg",
      "v": [
        63.4,
        63.41
      ],
      "src": [
        "celestrak-gp"
      ],
      "conf": "high",
      "note": "Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08."
    }
  ],
  "payloads": [],
  "variants": [],
  "art": "satellite",
  "image": null,
  "verified": null,
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "change": "Entry created from cited open sources"
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-11-08",
      "change": "Orbital elements from CelesTrak GP data (epoch about 2026-11-08): 3 catalogued, 3 active."
    }
  ],
  "satellites": [
    {
      "name": "YAOGAN-34 01",
      "norad": 48340,
      "cospar": "2021-037A",
      "perigee_km": 1049,
      "apogee_km": 1129,
      "inclination_deg": 63.4,
      "period_min": 107,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2021-04-30"
    },
    {
      "name": "YAOGAN-34 02",
      "norad": 52084,
      "cospar": "2022-027A",
      "perigee_km": 1041,
      "apogee_km": 1137,
      "inclination_deg": 63.4,
      "period_min": 107,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2022-03-17"
    },
    {
      "name": "YAOGAN-34 03",
      "norad": 54249,
      "cospar": "2022-154A",
      "perigee_km": 1049,
      "apogee_km": 1129,
      "inclination_deg": 63.41,
      "period_min": 107,
      "epoch": "2026-11-08",
      "active": true,
      "owner": "PRC",
      "launch": "2022-11-15"
    }
  ],
  "url": "https://www.defensepedia.com/systems/yaogan-34.html",
  "sources": {
    "gsp-yaogan-34": {
      "title": "Yaogan 34",
      "publisher": "Gunter's Space Page",
      "url": "https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/yaogan-34.htm",
      "published": null,
      "tier": 3,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    },
    "celestrak-gp": {
      "title": "NORAD GP element sets (current data)",
      "publisher": "CelesTrak (data from the U.S. Space Force 18th/19th Space Defense Squadron catalog)",
      "url": "https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/",
      "published": "2026-11-08",
      "tier": 1,
      "checked": "2026-11-08"
    }
  }
}