First joint France-China oceanic satellite to be launched in 2018

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The first oceanic satellite jointly developed by China and France was unveiled in Beijing Friday. It will be used to improve forecasting of ocean storms and cyclones.

The satellite, named CFOSAT (China-France Oceanography Satellite), is being tested in a Beijing-based assembly testing center of the China National Space Administration, said the administration Friday. It is due to be launched from China next year.

A test version of the CFOSAT /AFP Photo

Weighing 700 kilograms, the satellite will carry a wave-scatterometer spectrometer developed by the French space agency and a wind-measurement scatterometer by Chinese scientists. Besides waves forecast and monitoring, it will also conduct research in floating ice, polar glacier and ocean dynamics.

"In practical terms, it will be used to improve forecasts of strong storms, cyclones or waves for all coastal activities," Daniele Hauser, a French scientist working on the project, told AFP.

Understanding the interaction between the oceans and the atmosphere will also help to model and tackle climate change, scientists said.

Illustration of the CFOSAT spacecraft /CNES Photo

The project was originally envisaged as a joint program for French and European space agencies.

But an increasingly close working relationship between France and China on space technology over the past 10 years prompted the switch to the unprecedented collaboration on CFOSAT, said Hauser.

"We partnered with France because we were certain of the support of both states, but also because of France's expertise in wave analysis," said Wang Lili, China's project manager on the satellite.

The satellite will be placed into Earth's orbit in the second half of 2018 by a Chinese Long March carrier rocket. The project is scheduled to last three years.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency