Fengyun weather satellite family gets one more member

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China launched a new meteorological satellite, Fengyun-3D, at 2:35 a.m. Beijing Time Wednesday from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China's Shanxi Province.

Fengyun-3D is one of China's second generation of Polar-Orbiting Meteorological Satellites, which can provide global three dimensional all-weather and multi-spectral remote sensing images.

The satellite will form a network with the Fengyun-3C satellite, which was launched into space in September 2013, to improve the accuracy of atmospheric sounding and enhance the monitoring of greenhouse gases. The network will help China's disaster relief work.

New instruments

Chief manager of the Fengyun-3 system Zhang Peng told thepaper.cn that the D satellite was designed to run for five years, with 10 advanced remote sensing devices.

Zhang Peng talks with CCTV reporter. /Screenshot from CCTV

One of the main functioning parts is a spectral imager, the first of its kind to sample the Earth at a resolution of 250 meters per dot, as reported by thepaper.cn

In addition to actual color images, it can also monitor the clouds and water vapor to help China research its environment.

Zhang also introduced the greenhouse gas monitor on the satellite, which can get the amount of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane on a global scale.

The data is already being used at the on-going COP23 to for analysis.

"We have also introduced two more ground stations, one in China's Kashi, the other in the Antarctica," Zhang told CCTV.

Data for free

The administration of the Fengyun system promised last month to share the collected data with the world for free.

And they are doing it, as the data can already be downloaded at satellite.nsmc.org.cn, the system's official data portal.

The English version of the data portal /Screenshot from satellite.nsmc.org.cn

The system has collected more than 3,600 TB of data since 2005, as shown on the website.

Fengyun-3D's data was not available until noon Beijing Time.

But the data should be available soon since China Meteorological Administration revealed on Wednesday that Fengyun-3D could send back 90 percent of its data in 80 minutes.