BEIJING : China’s first low-orbit precipitation measuring satellite, Fengyun-3G (FY-3G), officially entered service on Wednesday, the China Meteorological Administration said.
Launched on April 16, 2023, the FY-3G satellite will primarily be used to study precipitation climate and systematically monitor hazardous weather conditions, China Central Television reported. It is capable of providing 3D structural data on precipitation in the middle and low latitudes.
The satellite has completed more than six months of testing since October 23, 2023. During the test operation, the satellite’s ground system operated stably, the satellite platform, the on-board payload, and the satellite instrument and control equipment were in normal condition. Four evaluation indicators, namely data entry, data processing, product distribution and data archiving, met the standards.
The family of satellites, the Fengyun meteorological satellite system, was developed independently by China. Since the launch of the first Fengyun weather satellite in 1988, a total of 21 Fengyun weather satellites of two generations and four types have been launched. Nine of them are still on the field.