Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (Hull) 2 launched the Long March 4B rocket in July (Changzhen 4B) from the starting complex 94 (SLS-2) Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the oldest cosmodrome of the People's Republic of China, located in the northwest of the country in the Gobi desert, which is in the province of Gansu. This is the 150th orbital launch in 2026 year.
The payload was the Haiyang 2E satellite (HY-2E), another device in a series of Chinese oceanographic satellites, intended for monitoring the dynamics of the World Ocean in the microwave range. The satellite was successfully launched into a sun-synchronous orbit. This launch was the 654th launch of the Long March family of launch vehicles.
Haiyang (translated from Chinese – "Ocean") – is a program of satellite observation of the sea surface, which develops from 2002 year. Satellites of the HY-2 series are designed for measuring parameters, critical for hydrometeorology and natural disaster forecasting: sea wind vector, sea surface temperature, wave heights and other indicators.
The Haiyang 2E satellite carries three main instruments on board:
Microwave Radiometer Imager (MWRI) — a radiometer for measuring surface temperature and moisture content in the atmosphere.
Radar Altimeter (RA) — a radar altimeter for determining the height of waves and the topography of the seabed.
Ku-band Rotational Fan-beam Scatterometer (SCAT) — a scatterometer for measuring wind speed and direction over the ocean.
Data, which are obtained from HY-2E, are used to make operational weather forecasts, tsunami and cyclone warnings, as well as for long-term monitoring of climate change. The French space agency CNES also participates in the Haiyang program, providing the satellites in this series with the DORIS instrument for precise orbit determination. HY-2E became another satellite in the series, on which this device is installed (previous ones – HY-2A, 2C та 2D). HY-2F is also planned to be launched in 2026 year.
Source: https://lookintothe.space