Monday, April 16, 2007

Chinese Ocean Observer Spacecraft Monitored


Ivan Artner reported this morning (April 16) via Hearsat the following: "HY-1B was heard 2007.04.16 11:10-11:22z on 2273.520 MHz. Signal was weak, but data sidebands were noticed approx+-50kHz from the center carrier."

Haiyang-1B was launched from the Taiyuan Space Center, PRC, onboard a CZ-2C on April 11, 2007, at 0327 UTC. The international designator is 2007-010A and SSC number is 31113.

And this from Spaceflight Now, "China launches an ocean observer spacecraft" (www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0704/11haiyang1b/)

"China launched a satellite Wednesday to begin a three-year mission surveying the world's oceans to monitor sea color and temperature, according to state media reports.

The Haiyang 1B satellite is China's second oceanographic satellite, and it replaces an earlier craft that stopped working in 2004, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Liftoff of Haiyang 1B occurred at 0327 GMT (11:27 p.m. EDT Tuesday) from Taiyuan launch center in northeastern China's Shanxi province, Xinhua reported.

A two-stage Long March 2C rocket deployed the payload into orbit a few minutes later, completing China's second space launch of the year. The flight of the 138-foot-tall booster marked the Long March rocket family's 54th consecutive successful mission since 1996.

Haiyang 1B was delivered to a Sun-synchronous orbit circling Earth's poles. This type of orbit allows satellites to fly over much of the planet at set intervals.

The craft is the second ocean surveying satellite fielded by China, and its mission will include pushing Chinese development of ocean resources, aiding the construction of new harbors and ports, and monitoring ocean pollution, according to Xinhua."