CFOSAT

CFOSAT, the China-France Oceanography Satellite, launched 29 October 2018 from Jiuquan and carries two Ku-band radars built by CNES and CNSA. SWIM, the first spaceborne wave spectrometer, sweeps six rotating beams from nadir to 10 degrees to retrieve directional ocean wave spectra: wavelength, direction, and significant wave height. SCAT, a rotating fan-beam scatterometer, measures the wind vector field. Flying wave spectra and collocated winds on one platform feeds wave forecast models such as WAVEWATCH III and improves storm and cyclone warnings. SWIM operates at 13.575 GHz; the joint dataset closed a gap left by earlier single-purpose scatterometers.