China has successfully launched the Fengyun-4 03 satellite, the latest addition to its second-generation geostationary meteorological constellation, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The launch took place at 12:07 a.m. Beijing time on December 27, 2025 (16:07 UTC on December 26), aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket. The satellite has entered its planned orbit, marking another milestone in China's space-based weather monitoring capabilities.
Developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the Fengyun-4 03 (also referred to as Fengyun-4C in some reports) is the third in the Fengyun-4 series, following Fengyun-4A (launched 2016) and Fengyun-4B (2021). It joins China's active fleet of over 20 Fengyun satellites, with 10 currently operational, forming a comprehensive network for global data services to 133 countries and regions.
The satellite is equipped with four Earth-observation instruments and two solar-observation instruments, enabling advanced monitoring. Key enhancements include:
- Completing a full-disk Earth scan in five minutes (reduced from 15 minutes in earlier models), with one-minute rapid imaging for specific regions.
- Detecting atmospheric temperature variations as small as 0.02 degrees Celsius (one-fiftieth of a degree) from geostationary orbit.
- Achieving a spatial resolution of eight kilometers.
- Mapping temperature and humidity across China within one hour.
These capabilities significantly improve short-term weather forecasting, disaster prevention (e.g., typhoons, thunderstorms), space weather monitoring, and ecological-environment observation. The integrated network with existing satellites supports inter-satellite coordination, high-speed data transmission, and broadcasting, powering systems like China's AI-driven MAZU meteorological platform for early warnings.
The launch was the 621st mission of the Long March rocket series and part of a busy 2025 for China's space program, which has seen over 90 orbital launches. Officials from the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) hailed it as a "comprehensive leap" in observation performance, particularly for small- and medium-scale weather systems and space weather disturbances like solar proton events.
This advancement bolsters China's role in global meteorology amid increasing extreme weather events, providing critical data for disaster mitigation in Asia and beyond.
