# HY-2B Radar Altimeter
*component . products*

Dual-frequency C-band and Ku-band radar altimeter flown on HY-2B.

## 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":"Dual-frequency C-band and Ku-band radar altimeter flown on HY-2B."}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
HY-2B Radar Altimeter is a dual-frequency active radar altimeter flown on HY-2B, also known as Hai Yang 2B, for ocean dynamic environment observations.[^aviso-hy2b][^nsoas-hy2b] It operates at Ku-band 13.58 GHz and C-band 5.25 GHz.[^wmo-hy2b][^nsoas-hy2b] The instrument supports sea-surface-height and related ocean-dynamics measurement within the HY-2 microwave mission objective.[^aviso-hy2b] Its pulse-limited footprint is 2 km, with nadir ranging measurement accuracy of 2 cm.[^nsoas-hy2b] Radar altimetry is demonstrated on HY-2B, with ALT active from January 2019 and expected end of life at or after 2026.[^wmo-hy2b]

## Compositional position
- hy-2b (missions) --[mission_payloads]--> HY-2B Radar Altimeter

## Sources
- [nsoas-hy2b] | HY-2B satellite, National Satellite Ocean Application Service | https://www.nsoas.org.cn/eng/item/206.html | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16
- [aviso-hy2b] | AVISO+ mission page: HY-2B | https://www.aviso.altimetry.fr/en/missions/current-missions/hy-2b.html | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16
- [wmo-hy2b] | WMO OSCAR satellite record: HY-2B | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/hy_2b | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16

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