China and France Bolster Agreement for Research Satellite

Artist’s rendition of the deployed CFOSAT spacecraft in orbit. Photo: CNES

[Via Satellite 01-29-2015] CNES, the French space agency, and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) have signed an agreement to step up the schedule for the China-France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSAT) mission. This agreement ties into the broader contract signed by CNES and CNSA in March 2014 aimed at achieving closer cooperation between France and China in oceanography and astrophysics.

CFOSAT is a science mission designed to study ocean surface wind and wave conditions with a view to improving forecasts for marine meteorology and knowledge of climate variability. The new agreement is intended to expedite implementation of CFOSAT.

To fulfill its mission, CFOSAT will carry two main instruments: Surface Waves Investigation and Monitoring (SWIM), a wave scatterometer supplied by CNES, and SCAT, a wind-field scatterometer supplied by CNSA. The agencies plan to use a Chinese launcher to orbit the satellite no later than June 2018.