# MWTS Microwave Temperature Sounder
*sensor . products*

MWTS is a cross-track passive microwave temperature sounder flown on Fengyun-3 meteorological satellites.

## Specifications
- **manufacturer**: nssc-cas
- **deployment context**: orbital
- **sensor**: {"instrument_family":"radiometer","measurement_principle":"passive","frequency_bands_ghz":[50.3,51.76,52.8,53.596,54.4,54.94,55.5,57.29],"scan_type":"cross-track","channel_count":13,"swath_km":2250}
- **entity type**: sensor
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-12
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: nssc-cas
- **attributes**: {"kind":"sensor","manufacturer":"nssc-cas","description":"MWTS is a cross-track passive microwave temperature sounder flown on Fengyun-3 meteorological satellites.","deployment_context":"orbital","sensor":"{\"instrument_family\":\"radiometer\",\"measurement_principle\":\"passive\",\"frequency_bands_ghz\":[50.3,51.76,52.8,53.596,54.4,54.94,55.5,57.29],\"scan_type\":\"cross-track\",\"channel_count\":13,\"swath_km\":2250}"}
- **technology**: microwave-radiometry

## Editorial
MWTS (Microwave Temperature Sounder) is a cross-track passive microwave radiometer series developed by China's National Satellite Meteorological Center for atmospheric temperature profiling on Fengyun-3 meteorological satellites.[^wmo-oscar-mwts2][^eoportal-fy3] The entry covers two generations with different channel configurations.

MWTS-1 flew on FY-3A (launched 2008) and FY-3B (launched 2010). It carries four channels in the 50.3-57.29 GHz oxygen absorption band, providing tropospheric temperature profiles.[^eoportal-fy3]

MWTS-2 flew on FY-3C (launched 2013) and FY-3D. It carries 13 channels across the same 50.3-57.29 GHz oxygen band, providing improved vertical resolution for temperature profiling from the surface to the upper stratosphere.[^wmo-oscar-mwts2] Swath width is reported as 2250 km[^wmo-oscar-mwts2] and 2600 km[^mdpi-mwts2-calibration] in different sources.

## Compositional position
- fy-3 (missions) --[mission_payloads]--> MWTS Microwave Temperature Sounder

## Sources
- [wmo-oscar-mwts2] | WMO OSCAR - MWTS-2 instrument record | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/instruments/view/mwts_2 | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-11
- [eoportal-fy3] | FY-3 Mission Overview, eoPortal | https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/fy-3 | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-11
- [mdpi-mwts2-calibration] | Inter-Calibration and Limb Correction of FY-3D/E MWTS for Long-Term Gridded Microwave Brightness Temperature Dataset | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/1/158 | tier=peer-reviewed | accessed=2026-06-11

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/mwts-microwave-temperature-sounder
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