Yujie Liu, Wenjian Zhang, Yang Zongdong
National Satellite Meteorological Center (NSMC)
China Meteorological Administration (CMA)
Beijing 100081, P. R. China
Introduction
The first generation of polar orbiting meteorological satellite project FY-1 series has four satellites, FY-1A, 1B, 1C and 1D. FY-1A and 1B were launched successfully on September 7, 1988 and September 3, 1990 respectively. They were all experimental satellites.
On May 10, 1999, FY-1C, the third polar orbiting meteorological satellite with a ten-channel radiometer as the primary sensing instrument, was launched successfully. The FY-1C satellite was designed and manufactured by the Ministry of Aerospace of China according to the requirement specified by China Meteorological Administration (CMA). The successful launching of FY-1C is a major development in Chinese scientific and technological modernization of meteorology. With launching of this satellite, we have ability to get the remote sensing data not only over China but also over the world. This data will be useful in analysis of meteorology. hydrology, climate research, agriculture and environment mornitoring. To compare with FY-1A and 1B, FY-1C is more advanced. It has been providing observing data to users over the world every day since the first day after launch. It is in operation now.
The Characteristics of FY-1C
FY-1C is a hexahedron of 1.42m x 1.42m x 1.2m. With three solar cell arrays, the total length of the satellite is 10.556m. The attitude of FY-1C is 3-axis stabilized with an accuracy less than 0.5 degrees. The designed life time is two years. The orbit parameters of FY-1A, 1B and 1C are in table 1.
Table 1 The orbit parameters of FY-1A, 1B and 1C
| Satellite | FY-1A | FY-1B | FY-1C |
| Launch date | September 7,1988 | September 3, 1990 | May 10, 1999 |
| Orbit | Sun-synchronous | Sun-synchronous | Sun-synchronous |
| Altitude (km) | 901 | 901 | 863 km |
| Period (minutes) | 102.86 | 102.86 | 102.301minutes |
| Inclination (degrees) | 99.0 | 98.9 | 98.79 |
| Eccentricity |
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