The development of China's 4th batch of Fengyun-3 (FY-3) meteorological satellites has been launched, according to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Upgraded from the FY-1 series, the FY-3 series is the second generation of Chinese polar-orbiting meteorological satellites and is designed to beef up the country's global data acquisition capability to collect more information on cloud and surface characteristics.

They can provide atmospheric, land-surface and sea-surface parameters that are global, all-weather, three-dimensional, quantitative and multi-spectral.

The 4th batch of Fengyun-3 satellites is the final one of China's second generation of low-orbit meteorological satellites, consisting of a precipitation measurement satellite in inclined orbit and a satellite in sun-synchronous early morning orbit.

After the deployment of the 4th batch of FY-3 satellites, China will verify in orbit, for the first time, the collaborative observation of its meteorological satellites in high and low orbits, in an effort to support the intelligent observation system development of third-generation meteorological satellites, said the SAST.