China launches new marine satellite

JIUQUAN, July 2 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday sent a new marine satellite into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

A Long March-4B rocket carrying the Haiyang-2E (HY-2E) satellite took off at 7:46 a.m. (Beijing Time), sending the satellite into its planned orbit.

The launch was the 654th involving the Long March rocket series.

The HY-2E was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). As China's first satellite system dedicated to marine dynamic environment monitoring, HY-2 satellites have for over a decade provided data services for national marine disaster prevention and mitigation, resource development, maritime security and oceanographic research.

Zhang Qingjun, an expert from the CAST, said the newly launched HY-2E satellite will replace the HY-2B satellite launched in 2018, and will work alongside the currently operational HY-2C and HY-2D satellites to ensure the stability of China's marine dynamic environment monitoring services.

The HY-2E is equipped with four microwave remote sensing payloads, capable of accurately acquiring data on sea surface height, significant wave height, sea surface wind fields and sea surface temperature, thus providing critical data support for marine weather forecasting and El Nino phenomenon research.

HY-2 satellites have precisely captured typhoon data during typhoon activities affecting China, played an important role in tsunami early warning, and provided data to global numerical weather prediction systems.

The wind, wave and current data obtained by HY-2 satellites can also help analyze major ocean fishing grounds, enabling fishermen to locate fish schools with precision and efficiency, thereby increasing catch yields and reducing offshore operating costs.

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) for vessels has also been added to HY-2 satellites since HY-2B, enabling continuous acquisition of vessel position, speed and call sign to improve navigation security.