China's new ocean-monitoring satellite passes factory tests

China's new ocean-monitoring satellite HY-1D has passed factory tests, paving way for its launch at a suitable time, the Ministry of National Resources said on May 9.

It is the country's fourth satellite for monitoring ocean color and an operational satellite for China's civil space infrastructure system, according to the National Satellite Ocean Application Center under the ministry.

Satellite HY-1C, launched in 2019, and HY-1D will form China's first civil-use satellite constellation for ocean monitoring to increase its global observation coverage, said a source of the center.

Once in orbit, it will provide data on ocean color and water temperature for the resource and environment surveys in China's offshore waters, islands and coastal areas.

The data may also be used to facilitate marine disaster prevention and mitigation, sustainable utilization of marine resources, marine ecological early warning and environmental protection, the center source said.