China launches new satellite to monitor ocean environment
A Long March-4B rocket, carrying the Haiyang-2C satellite, is launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday.
China on Monday sent a new ocean-monitoring satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
A Long March-4B rocket carrying the Haiyang-2C (HY-2C) satellite took off at 1:40pm, according to the launch center.
The HY-2C, the country’s third ocean dynamic environment satellite, can provide all-weather and round-the-clock observation of wave height, sea surface height, wind and temperature.
Onboard equipment enables the new satellite to provide information on the identification of vessels, and to receive, store and transmit buoy measurement data in China’s offshore and other marine areas.
Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the HY-2C will form a network with the earlier HY-2B and next HY-2D, scheduled to launch next year, to carry out high-precision maritime environment monitoring.
The planned satellite network will be capable of carrying out 80 percent of the world’s sea surface wind monitoring within six hours, said sources with the China National Space Administration.
As of August, China had developed and launched seven Haiyang satellites, named after the Chinese word for “ocean” and called “HY” for short. The country launched its first ocean monitoring satellite, the HY-1A, on May 15, 2002.
