China launches new meteorological satellite

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) — China on Saturday launched a new meteorological satellite from the southwestern Sichuan Province.

The Fengyun-4 03 satellite was launched aboard a Long March-3B rocket at 12.07 am (1600GMT on Friday) and has successfully entered its planned orbit, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Fengyun-4 03 will now join China’s 20-satellite-strong Fengyun meteorological constellation.

The satellite is primarily designed to support short-term weather forecasting, according to CGTN.

It is equipped with four Earth-observation instruments and two solar-observation instruments.

Its capabilities include completing a full-disk scan of Earth in five minutes, down from the previous 15-minute cycle; detecting atmospheric temperature variations as small as one-fiftieth of a degree Celsius from thousands of kilometers away; and achieving a spatial resolution of eight kilometers (4.9 miles).

The satellite can also map temperature and humidity across China within one hour.

The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology said the enhanced network will significantly improve China’s capabilities in weather forecasting, meteorological disaster prevention, space-weather monitoring, and ecological-environment observation.