Brief of HY-1

Listed in China's Ninth Five-year Plan (1996-2000), the "HY-1" maritime satellite, with the service life of two years, is China's first satellite of its kind. In a sun synchronous orbit, 79-kilometer in height, the HY-1 satellite will explore the water color and temperature by visible lights and Infra-red methods. The maritime satellite, which has been written in the White Paper on China's Space Activities, will establish a long-term stable system of earth observation satellites together with the weather and resources satellite series.

Main tasks of HY-1

By observing such data as the optics characteristics of seawater, chlorophyll density, sea surface temperature, suspended sand content, yellow materials, and maritime contamination, the HY-1 will get lots of useful information data including primary productivity distribution, the resources and environmental quality of maritime fish breeding and the distribution law of suspended sand, thereby providing a scientific basis for resources usage, environmental protection, and law enforcement management. -->