Home > United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and Finance (UNPAN)
1. Global
Global
2. Africa
Africa
3. Arab States
Arab States
4. Asia & Pacific
Asia & Pacific
5. Europe
Europe
6. Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean
7. North America
North America
UNPAN Asia & Pacific




Public Administration News  
Share
China to Upgrade Maritime Satellite Network by 2020
Source: china.org.cn
Source Date: Thursday, September 06, 2012
Focus: ICT for MDGs
Country: China
Created: Sep 11, 2012

China plans to launch eight satellites providing ocean and land data before 2020, a senior official said on Wednesday.

"The planned satellite launches, including four satellites observing the color of the sea, two observing ocean currents and two maritime radar satellites before 2020, have been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission," Jiang Xingwei, director of the National Satellite Ocean Application Service, told China Daily at the third Digital Ocean Forum in Tianjin.

The new satellites will greatly improve China's ability to observe and supervise the marine environment, he said.

China already has three satellites that monitor its territorial waters and islands, including the Diaoyu Islands and Huangyan Island, but they cannot be used to focus on a fixed location, Jiang said.

The launch of the two maritime radar satellites will add that capability.

Pan Delu, of the State Oceanic Administration's Second Institute of Oceanography, said at the forum that it is urgent China moves forward with the satellite project because the country is at least 10 years behind the satellite technology of developed economies such as the United States.

China is accelerating its pace of research and development of satellite technologies and broadening international cooperation.

On Aug 30, China's National Satellite Ocean Application Service and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites in Germany signed an agreement allowing the exchange of data from their ocean-monitoring satellites. Jiang said that a US organization has shown interest in the data from the Haiyang-2 satellite.

China has three maritime satellites in operation, according to the NSOAS.

Under the country's previous maritime satellite plan, published on the agency's website, three additional series of satellites will be launched: the ocean color (Haiyang-1) series, ocean current (Haiyang-2) series and maritime radar (Haiyang-3) series. Together, they will provide the capacity needed to fully monitor the country's ocean environment and guarantee its maritime rights.

Satellite images and data have widely been used in marine environment monitoring and island protection.

Xia Dengwen, deputy director of the China Oceanic Information Network of the State Oceanic Administration, said the current sea-monitoring is done by some satellites and aircraft.

If more satellites are launched, the system will operate better, said Xia, who is in charge of the system.

After three years of operation, the national sea-monitoring system has gradually expanded its coverage from offshore waters to distant areas, covering about 300,000 square kilometers of ocean, according to the State Oceanic Administration.

Xia said satellite images and data provide important information used by China Marine Surveillance in monitoring the legitimate and illegal use of the oceans, helping authorities adjust the annual national sea-use plan.
News Home

 Tag This
 Tell A Friend
 Favorite
del.icio.us digg this Slashdot
Rate:
0 ratings
Views: 4

Comments: 0 Favorited: 0 Bookmarked: 0 Tagged: 0



0 Comments | Login to add comment

Site map | FAQs | Terms and Privacy | Contact Us
Copyright 2008-2010 by UNPAN - United Nations Public Administration Network