China's State Council has endorsed plans to launch the
second-generation of the country's oceanic survey satellites, the
state's top ocean research official said on Thursday.
The "Haiyang-2" (Ocean 2) series of satellites, a crucial
component of China's civil spacecraft program, would be used to
collect data on offshore wind fields, ocean circulation, tides, and
sea surface temperatures, said Sun Zhihui, director of State
Oceanic Administration.
China launched its first oceanic satellite "Haiyang-1A" (Ocean
1A) in 2002, to monitor ocean color and temperature through remote
sensing technology.
The monitoring range of the "Haiyang-1A" covered the Bohai Sea,
the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea.
Sun told a national conference on oceanic administration that
the country's second oceanic satellite -- the "Haiyang-1B" (Ocean
1B) the successor of the "Haiyang-1A" -- would be launched "very
soon", but he did not reveal the specific timetable.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)