[1] Tianyan-1 was designed and funded by Zhongxing Space Remote Sensing Satellite Technology Service Co. Ltd. (中星空间遥感卫星技术服务有限公司), a private company based in Jiangsu Province's Yizheng Economic Development Zone, where the satellite derives its name.
[1] 16 minutes after the launch (at 11:38), once the rocket had exited the atmosphere and deployed the Tianyan-1, the ground station began to receive telemetry data, and one minute later (at 11:39), the satellite indicated that it had successfully deployed its antenna and solar panels.
[2][6] Tianyan-1 was launched in the "One Arrow and Nine Stars" (一箭九星; Yī Jiàn Jiǔ Xīng) mission alongside eight other satellites:[1][4][7] In a ceremony held the day of the launch, Liu Changrong (刘长荣), director of the Yizheng Economic Development Zone, announced that Tianyan-1 was the first sub-meter high-resolution optical remote sensing satellite to be independently developed, designed, manufactured, launched, and operated from Jiangsu Province.
[2] A press release published three days following the launch by Yizheng City Natural Resources and Planning Bureau described the satellite as weighing 72 kilograms and bearing a high-resolution imager to support natural resource monitoring, disaster prevention, urban planning, and emergency management; though the satellite likely also supports reconnaissance missions of the Chinese government.
[9] Tianyan-2 (天眼二号; Tiānyǎn èr hào), alternatively known as Xingshidai-8 (星时代八号; Xīng Shídài bā hào; 'Star Age 8'), is a commercial Chinese 6U CubeSat reconnaissance satellite bearing both a low-resolution Earth video-imager launched.