At 2.31 p.m. on 11 June, China successfully launched the Ocean-1 D satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center by a Long March-2 C launch vehicle, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The satellite, together with the Ocean-1 C satellite, will form China's first constellation of satellites for marine civilian operations.
Ocean-1 C and D satellite constellation mock-up. Image from Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
Ocean-1 D satellite is China's fourth ocean water color series satellite and one of the first marine operational satellites planned for China's civil space infrastructure.
The satellite will conduct morning and afternoon network observations with the Ocean-1 C satellite, which was successfully launched in 2018, to fill the gap of no afternoon observation data from China's ocean water color satellites.
The Ocean-1 D satellite uses the CAST2000 satellite platform developed by China and is equipped with five payloads with the same performance as the Ocean-1 C satellite.
Among them, the Ocean Water Color Temperature Scanner (OWCTS) is used to detect global ocean water color elements and sea surface temperature fields with a spatial resolution of 1.1 km. The range is greater than 2,900 kilometres and the detection period is one day.
The Coastal Zone Imager (CZI) is used to obtain information on the nearshore water environment, coastal zones, rivers and lakes, with a spatial resolution of 50 m, a width of more than 950 km and a detection period of three days.
The UV imager is used for atmospheric correction of near-shore high turbidity water bodies; the calibration spectrometer is used to monitor the accuracy and stability of the water color temperature scanner and the UV imager radiation in orbit; the automatic vessel identification system is used to obtain information on the position of ocean vessels.
According to The CNSA, the first constellation of marine civil operational satellites will significantly enhance China's ability to effectively observe the global ocean water color, coastal zone resources and ecological environment.
This is of great significance for conducting research on global climate change, tackling global warming and building ecological civilization, among other things.
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