Chollian-2B
| Company type | Satellite |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace, Environmental monitoring |
| Founded | February 18, 2020 |
| Headquarters | South Korea |
| Products | Atmospheric and oceanographic data collection |
Chollian-2B, also referred to as GEO-KOMPSAT-2B (Geostationary Korea Multi Purpose Satellite-2B), is a South Korean satellite positioned in geostationary orbit, launched on February 18, 2020. Serving as the counterpart to Chollian-2A, it is dedicated to the detailed surveillance of atmospheric fine dust pollutants.
Development
After the 2010 deployment of Chollian, development of the Chollian-2A and 2B satellites commenced in 2011 and spanned nine years, with backing from the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The investment amounted to 386.7 billion won for Chollian-2A and 318 billion won for Chollian-2B. Whereas Chollian fulfilled diverse functions such as meteorological, oceanographic, and communication tasks, Chollian-2A targets meteorological observations, while 2B concentrates on environmental and oceanographic data gathering.
The creation of Chollian-2B involved collaboration between two leading corporations alongside 36 small and medium-sized enterprises, establishing it as the first geostationary satellite globally dedicated to uninterrupted atmospheric environmental surveillance. It successfully passed stringent evaluations—including acoustic, thermal vacuum, and electromagnetic compatibility tests—conducted between June and October 2019 to confirm its durability in space conditions.
Technology
The ocean observation payload on Chollian-2B offers a spatial resolution four times finer than that of its predecessor, Chollian, doubling the variety of data types collected from 13 to 26, and increasing daily observation frequency from eight to ten times. This satellite is equipped with the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) for highly accurate atmospheric measurements and the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-II (GOCI-II) for marine environment observation.
Its environmental payload can detect approximately 20 different air pollutants, such as particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, ozone, and aerosols that influence climate change. The ocean payload delivers 26 distinct data categories—twice as many as the original satellite—including phenomena like red tide occurrences, floating algae concentrations, sea fog, and sea ice conditions within Korean waters. The spatial resolution has been enhanced to 250 meters from Chollian’s previous 500 meters, while data transmission speed has improved by a factor of eighteen.
Mission
Chollian-2B was launched on February 18, 2020, from the Guiana Space Centre aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. It separated from the launch vehicle approximately 31 minutes after liftoff. After achieving its designated orbit on March 6, it commenced test operations aimed at optimizing its functionality.
Situated in geostationary orbit at an altitude of 35,786 kilometers and positioned at 128.2° east longitude, the satellite enables continuous monitoring throughout the day over targeted regions. Its core objectives include real-time surveillance of marine pollutants such as red tide events, green tide outbreaks, oil spills, alongside tracking air pollutant dispersal. Data integration with Chollian-2A (launched in 2018) enhances predictive capabilities related to air quality issues like fine dust pollution.
The coverage area extends across North Asia—from Korea and Japan down to northern Indonesia and reaching southern Mongolia—providing atmospheric condition monitoring for numerous Asian countries including China, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Mongolia.
In November 2020, visualized air quality information over Asia near the Korean Peninsula captured by this satellite was released by the Ministries of Science and ICT (MSIT), Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries.