Self-made "Haiyang-1B" satellite is launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center of north China's Shanxi Province at 11:27 a.m. on April 11, 2007.

Self-made "Haiyang-1B" satellite is launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center of north China's Shanxi Province at 11:27 a.m. on April 11, 2007.

China successfully launched its second oceanic survey satellite "Haiyang-1B" (Ocean 1B) from Taiyuan Satellite Launching Center Wednesday morning.

The home-made satellite was launched at 11:27 a.m. and reached the target orbit aboard a Long March-2C carrier rocket, China's top ocean research official said.

The "Haiyang-1B", a crucial component of China's three dimensional oceanic survey system, would be used to monitor the color and temperature of the ocean, said Sun Zhihui, director of the State Oceanic Administration.

The satellite will also aid China's development and utilization of oceanic resources, construction of bayou and ports, monitoring and prevention of oceanic pollution, resource investigation and the development of coastal areas as well as for study of global environmental changes, he said.

China launched its first oceanic survey satellite Haiyang-1A in May 2002 to monitor ocean color and temperature using remote sensing technology

Haiyang-1A monitors the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

Chief scientist Bai Zhaoguang said the Haiyang-1B is an upgraded version of the earlier model.

"The operational life of Haiyang-1B is expected to reach three years, a year longer than Haiyang-1A. The new satellite provides three times as much information," he said.

"The satellite's observational devices now have a 3,000-kilometer range -- up from 1,300 kilometers -- and its imaging devices provide higher resolution photography," he added.

Haiyang-1B has a stronger structure than Haiyang-1A, enabling it to withstand bigger shocks and jolts, he said.

Bai also told Xinhua Haiyang-1B has software and internet capabilities that allow it to repair itself in space, saying that 10 computers work together to repair the craft if a technical breakdown occurs.

The breakdown of a solar cell driver shortened Haiyang-1A's operational life. But Haiyang-1B's improved technology will enable it to solve this kind of problem by itself, Bai said.

Editor: Yan