# HY-2C HY Scatterometer
*component . products*

Ku-band rotating scatterometer flown on HY-2C for ocean-surface wind observations.

## Specifications
- **product status**: operational
- **deployment context**: orbital
- **manufacturer**: cast
- **entity type**: component
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-16
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: cast
- **attributes**: {"kind":"component","product_status":"operational","deployment_context":"orbital","manufacturer":"cast","description":"Ku-band rotating scatterometer flown on HY-2C for ocean-surface wind observations."}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
HY-2C HY Scatterometer (HSCAT-HY-2C) is the HY-2C Ku-band rotating scatterometer for near-surface ocean wind vectors.[^wmo-hy2c-satellite][^wmo-hscat-instrument] HY-2C launched on 21 Sep 2020, and the HSCAT payload has been active from Dec 2020 with end of life at least 2026.[^wmo-hy2c-satellite] The Ku-band frequency is expressed as 13.256, 13.25 and 13.3 GHz at different precision levels.[^wmo-hy2c-satellite][^wmo-hscat-instrument][^osi-hy2-winds-pum] HSCAT uses a conically scanning two-beam geometry, with a 1 m dish rotating at 20 rpm and HH/VV spot beams at 42 and 49 degrees incidence.[^wmo-hscat-instrument][^osi-hy2-winds-pum] The geometry provides a 1300 km swath, 25 km standard resolution and 50 km best-quality resolution.[^wmo-hscat-instrument] HY-2C operates in an inclined drifting orbit at 1336 km altitude and 66 degree inclination, with drifting equator-crossing times.[^wmo-hy2c-satellite][^osi-hy2-winds-pum] A HY-2C 50 km wind vector product has full-series coverage from 2021 onward, with OSI-115-d superseding OSI-115-b from 31 Oct 2024 onward.[^eumetsat-osi115b] The payload demonstrates radar scatterometry on HY-2C.[^wmo-hy2c-satellite]

## Compositional position
- hy-2c (missions) --[mission_payloads]--> HY-2C HY Scatterometer

## Sources
- [wmo-hy2c-satellite] | WMO OSCAR satellite record: HY-2C | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/hy_2c | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-16
- [wmo-hscat-instrument] | WMO OSCAR instrument record: HSCAT | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/instruments/view/hscat | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-16
- [osi-hy2-winds-pum] | OSI SAF Product User Manual for HY-2 winds | https://scatterometer.knmi.nl/publications/pdf/osisaf_cdop3_ss3_pum_hy-2_winds.pdf | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16 | published=2022-11-04
- [eumetsat-osi115b] | EUMETSAT OSI SAF HY-2C 50 km wind vectors | https://osi-saf.eumetsat.int/products/osi-115-b | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/products/component/hscat-hy-2c
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)