SatBałtyk – A Baltic environmental satellite remote sensing system – an ongoing project in Poland. Part 1: Assumptions, scope and operating range**This work was carried out within the framework of the SatBałtyk project funded by the European Union through European Regional Development Fund, (contract No. POIG.01.01.02-22-011/09 entitled ‘The Satellite Monitoring of the Baltic Sea Environment’) and also as a part of IO PAS’s statutory research.The paper was presented in part at the 6th International Conference ‘Current Problems in the Optics of Natural Waters’ St. Petersburg, Russia, 6–10 September 2011.