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HaiYang means ‘ocean’ in Chinese, which explains the ‘HY’ in HY-2A, a Chinese satellite dedicated to studying sea-surface height, temperature and wind velocity. Launched on 15 August 2011, HY-2A complements the HY-1A and HY-1B satellites that acquired ocean colour measurements for ocean biology studies.
To determine sea-surface height, HY-2A uses a radar altimeter that measures the satellite’s distance or ‘range’ to the ocean surface and a DORIS instrument developed and supplied by CNES. Operating in combination with a laser retroreflector and GPS receiver, DORIS enables the satellite’s orbital position to be determined with centimetre accuracy. CNES also provides support for orbit determination operations.
HY-2A was initially planned to fly a 3-year mission, 2 years in an altimetry orbit and then 1 year in a geodetic orbit, but it is still operating and the change of orbit is now not scheduled until 2016.
Mission's news feed
Science Programmes Committee Meeting focuses on innovation, climate and exploration
A meeting of CNES’s Science Programmes Committee (CPS) was held at CNES headquarters in Paris on Wednesday, 31 May 2017. The CPS advises the CNES Board of Directors on matters...
May 31, 2017
France-China space cooperation 11th meeting of French-Chinese Space Committee Signature of cooperation agreement on HY-2 ocean-observing missions
Tuesday 23 May in Paris, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall and Wu Yanhua, Vice-Administrator of the China National Space Administration, chaired the 11th meeting of the French-...
May 23, 2017
El Niño: satellites see red
The wild child of the Pacific is shaping up to be a monster this winter, comparable to the 1997-1998 episode and possibly even worse. The story in pictures.
December 1, 2015