The history of Fengyun Meteorological Satellite
The development of the "Fengyun" meteorological satellite series can be said to be a microcosm of the development of my country's reform and opening up. Through 30 years of unremitting efforts and independent innovation by the Chinese people, meteorological satellites have become an indispensable scientific and technological support for modern meteorological services and national economic construction. " said Yang Jun, director of the National Satellite Meteorological Center.
With the attention and care of successive party and state leaders, our country has successfully launched 9 Fengyun series meteorological satellites, and currently, there are still 5 in orbit Operating stably, it provides a large number of public welfare, professional and decision-making services in the fields of meteorology, oceanography, agriculture, forestry, water conservancy, aviation, navigation and environmental protection, and has produced huge social and economic benefits. Today, Fengyun series. Meteorological satellites have become one of the most effective and widely used civil remote sensing satellites in my country.
From experimental application to business service type
"The work of meteorological satellites, We started from scratch. No one tells you how to do it. It depends on practice and condensation, and you have to pay a price for experience and knowledge. " Niu Yinsheng, chief commander of the Fengyun-1A satellite ground application system and former director of the National Satellite Meteorological Center, said.
While meteorological satellites have made remarkable achievements, people will never forget the unforgettable pain:
On October 15, 1988, my country’s first polar-orbiting meteorological satellite, Fengyun-1A, which successfully operated stably in orbit for 39 days, lost control of its attitude and failed to complete the satellite operation.
On February 14, 1991, after 165 days of normal operation in orbit, Fengyun-1B lost control of its attitude again due to a jump in the data stored in the onboard computer.
On April 7, 1994, During the simulation test of Fengyun-201, which was about to become my country's first geostationary weather satellite, 8 hours before launch, the hydrazine system leaked, causing a fire in the factory and the satellite was burned.
On June 10, 1997. The Fengyun-2 A and B satellites launched on June 25, 2000, respectively, failed to operate normally due to various problems after 10 and 8 months of operation in orbit.
Looking back at history, it is these lingering pains that have accumulated experience for the development and technology of our country’s polar orbiting and geostationary meteorological satellites; it is also these pains that inspire us all the time. Meteorological satellite science and technology workers have devoted themselves to the development and application of satellites with a more "strict, cautious, detailed and practical" work attitude. "Faced with this high-input, high-tech, high-risk, and high-reward work, we are here. Don't be careless in the slightest. "Yang Jun said.
The extraordinary journey will inevitably create an extraordinary satellite platform, and will inevitably cultivate a group of meteorological satellite scientific and technological personnel who have the courage to overcome difficulties, face difficulties and persevere. After experiencing setbacks After that, myths were written in the hands of astronauts and meteorologists. On May 10, 1999 and May 15, 2002, Fengyun-1C and Fengyun-D were successfully launched respectively. The No. 1 C satellite operated normally in orbit for 4 years and 9 months, which greatly exceeded the design life of 2 years, while the D satellite was still operating stably on October 19, 2004 and December 2006. On March 8, Fengyun-2 C and D stars were successfully launched respectively, achieving "double-star operation and mutual backup" for the first time. Among them, Fengyun-2 C and the ground application system also won the 2007 National Science and Technology Award. First Prize for Progress.
On May 27, 2008, my country's new generation of polar-orbiting meteorological satellite Fengyun-3A was successfully launched into its intended orbit.
On December 23, 2008. At 8:54 on the same day, China used the Long March-3A carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center to successfully put the "Fengyun-2" 06 satellite into the predetermined orbit. From the first generation of meteorological satellites to the second generation
After 30 years of development, my country's meteorological satellites have become operational and serialized, and have taken the lead in realizing the transformation of my country's applied satellites from experimental applications to business services. Goal. However, in the face of problems, our country’s astronauts and meteorologists did not stop there.
With the rapid development of our country’s economy and society, the five meteorological satellites carried on the Fengyun-1 meteorological satellite. The single instrument of the channel has long been unable to meet the needs of meteorological modernization. Issues such as disaster prevention and reduction, climate change, and environmental and ecological protection urgently require meteorological satellites to provide scientific and technological support for their solutions.
Just in Fengyun. When the development of the No. 1 meteorological satellite is gradually on the right track, the proposal to develop my country's second-generation polar-orbiting meteorological satellite is before everyone. "The 1990s were the most difficult time for the development of meteorological satellites. But despite this, everyone is still full of hope. While developing Fengyun-1 meteorological satellite, many people are also planning to develop my country's second-generation polar-orbiting meteorological satellite. "Yang Jun said.
After eight years of "arduous war of resistance," our country's astronauts and meteorologists have completed side by side what the United States took 40 years to complete. On May 27, 2008, my country's new generation The polar-orbiting meteorological satellite Fengyun-3A was successfully put into the predetermined orbit. Along with the satellite, 11 advanced remote sensing instruments and 99 spectral detection channels were carried on board, including 5 channels. The resolution reaches 250 meters, while on Fengyun-1A 30 years ago, there was only one instrument and five channels.
In addition to quantitative breakthroughs, Fengyun-3A Star pays more attention to qualitative breakthroughs. It has achieved four major technological breakthroughs for my country's meteorological satellites, from single remote sensing imaging to comprehensive detection of the earth environment, from optical remote sensing to microwave remote sensing, from kilometer-level resolution to hundred-meter level resolution, and from domestic reception to polar reception.
As my country's polar-orbiting meteorological satellites enter a new historical stage, the upgrading of geostationary meteorological satellites is also proceeding in an orderly manner. At present, my country's second-generation geostationary meteorological satellite Fengyun-4 has entered the project approval stage, and the first satellite will be launched around 2013.
"The meteorological satellite industry is the result of the struggle of several generations. This road is difficult and arduous, but it is very effective. We believe that as long as we unite and continue to improve, China's meteorological satellites will be better in the future. It will definitely be better," said Xu Jianmin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief engineer of Fengyun-2 ground application system.
From a toddler to a model of space-ground integration
As one of the five major systems in satellite engineering, the ground application system is a solid guarantee for giving full play to the benefits of satellite applications. "In order to give full play to the effects of satellites, the development of ground application systems must be slightly ahead of the development of satellites." Niu Yinsheng said. With the development of satellites, the construction of my country's meteorological satellite ground application systems is also constantly advancing: ground receiving stations have grown from scratch, from 3 to 5, and from domestic to foreign countries; ground application systems have grown from scratch, from one The system runs to multiple systems in parallel.
“The technical content and workload of the Fengyun satellite ground application system are no less than or even exceed the satellite itself. It is not only the best system in China, but also advanced in the world.” Kuang Dingbo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said .
Looking back on the 30 years that Satellite Meteorologists have gone through, what Xu Jianmin feels most deeply is not the dazzling achievements, but the various difficulties that were unimaginable at the time. He repeatedly described his current mood as "the uncertainty was too great, and looking back now, I feel scared." He said: "Scientific researchers have endured complaints and pressure from all aspects. We can only start from the basics bit by bit and solve the problem step by step."
Today, Fengyun Satellite Ground Application System It has successfully solved the problems of real-time collection of massive, high-speed meteorological satellite data and real-time remote transmission between different places, made breakthroughs in key technologies such as satellite data reception and processing, pre-processing, product processing, archiving, distribution and application, and overcome the problems of domestic double-satellites and foreign multi-satellites. The technical complexity and compatibility problems brought by business reception processing to the application system have achieved stable and reliable operation of the system, with the annual operation success rate maintained at 99.5%.
In particular, the high-precision image positioning technology in the Fengyun-2 ground application system solved the "fatal" problem of my country's aerospace industry and was praised by Dr. Mike Griffin, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). , recognized by international peer experts as reaching the international advanced level.
The unique development model of Fengyun series meteorological satellites and ground integration has also been praised by my country's aerospace industry as "a model of space-ground integration and a model of ground application systems."
From being unable to cope with it to having a plan in mind
"Raccoon", "Phoenix", "Senlac", "Hagupit", "Rose"... the individual typhoons that landed in my country in 2008 The number is higher than the same period in normal years, and the intensity of typhoon landing is strong. However, due to accurate forecasts and effective defense measures, the casualties and economic losses caused by typhoons were lighter than those in the same period since 2000. Among them, meteorological satellites monitor closely at all times, track the movements of typhoons, and provide forecasters with the latest satellite cloud images in a timely manner, which can be said to have played an important role.
However, my thoughts go back to the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, when typhoons were raging, droughts were rampant, and severe cold waves were sudden. Natural disasters set up obstacles to the development of New China. Especially in 1968, typhoons frequently hit my country's eastern coast and caused heavy losses. "At that time, the meteorological department was still lacking in typhoon monitoring methods, and especially could not make accurate judgments on the typhoon's movement path and intensity." Many veteran comrades recalled.
The Fengyun weather satellite, which shoulders the heavy responsibility, did not disappoint people. Since January 2005, China's Fengyun series of satellites have monitored all 92 typhoons that have impacted the Pacific or 33 typhoons that have landed on mainland my country.
In recent years, meteorological satellites have been widely used in disaster prevention and reduction, climate change response, Olympic meteorological service guarantee, and space environment monitoring and forecasting, and have achieved remarkable results.
In 2003, there were huge floods in the Huaihe River, huge forest fires in the Daxinganling Mountains in 2006, huge sandstorms in Beijing in 2006, low-temperature rain, snow and freezing weather in early 2008, and severe disasters that hit most parts of my country in early winter every year. Fengyun satellite data and products can be found in meteorological services for heavy fog and other disastrous weather; meteorological satellite data have been widely used in my country's summer monsoon, drought, and snow monitoring, and in the analysis of global ozone and sea ice change trends. .
In the meteorological services for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, the Fengyun series of satellites played an important role. While closely monitoring strong convective weather such as typhoons and heavy rains, meteorological satellites actively provide scientific data for Beijing's thermal environment, atmospheric aerosol, and ozone monitoring, and provide daily Enteromorpha distribution maps for the management of Enteromorpha in the sea area of the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Competition.
In addition to serving modern meteorological services, meteorological satellite data and products also actively serve the military, hydrology, ocean, agriculture, forestry, civil aviation, transportation, electric power and other departments. According to statistics, there are currently more than 2,500 users receiving and utilizing Fengyun-2 meteorological satellite data and products.
From relying on foreign data to providing data for foreign counterparts
With the successful launch and operational operation of China's geostationary and polar-orbiting meteorological satellites, Fengyun-1C and D satellites, Fengyun-2C and D satellites and Fengyun-3A satellites have been included in the global operational meteorological satellite sequence by the World Meteorological Organization. China's meteorological satellites have an increasing international influence and play an increasingly significant role. A large number of international users directly receive or use China's Fengyun meteorological satellite data.
“Especially after the successful launch of Fengyun-3A, we seem to have become a hot commodity. Meteorological departments in many developed countries have taken the initiative to contact us, hoping to enjoy Fengyun-3. A-star information." Yang Jun said proudly.
In just 30 years, with the care and attention of the leaders of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, China has become one of the very few countries that possesses both polar-orbiting and geostationary meteorological satellites, and has become a member of the Earth Observation Organization (GEO) played an important role.
In May 1993, the China Meteorological Administration provided North Korea with a polar-orbiting meteorological satellite data receiving and processing system. This was the first meteorological satellite data receiving and processing system exported by China to a foreign country. In order to strengthen the sharing of satellite data, China successfully developed the FENGYUNCast receiving system and donated the receiving equipment to 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific region in 2006 and 2007, making Fengyun satellite data more widely available around the world. application. At the same time, countries such as Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, North Korea, Iran, Oman, New Zealand, and the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions of China are also receiving and utilizing Fengyun-2 satellite data to varying degrees.