BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday exchanged congratulations on the successful launch earlier in the day of a jointly developed ocean-observing satellite.
The China-France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSat), atop a Long March-2C carrier rocket, took off at 8:43 a.m. (0043 GMT) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, in northwest China’s Gobi Desert, and entered a sun-synchronous orbit 520 km above the Earth.
The joint mission between the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, the French space agency, will enable 24-hour observations of global wave spectrum, effective wave height and ocean surface wind field.
In his congratulatory message to Macron, Xi said space cooperation is an important part of the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership, and the successful launch of the jointly developed oceanography satellite represents the latest result, which will play a significant role in global marine environment monitoring, disaster management and reduction, and fight against climate change, among others. (Xinhua)