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Feng Yun 3 Earth Observation System

China Meteorological Administration (CMA) is operating FENGYUN (or FY for acronym) geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite systems. Currently, six FY satellites are on-orbit with well performance, including four geostationary meteorological satellites and two polar orbiting meteorological satellites. FY satellites take place in series. The odd number series are the polar-orbiting, while the even number series are the geostationary. The capital letter after the serial number refers to the seat of a particular satellite in the launching sequence.

FengYun-3, or FY-3 satellites, are China's second generation polar-orbiting meteorological satellites, with substantively enhanced functionalities and technical capabilities. They are designed to enhance China's three dimensional atmospheric sounding capability and global data acquisition capability, in an effort to collect more cloud and surface characteristics data, from which meteorologists may infer out atmospheric, land surface and sea surface parameters that are global, all-weather, three-dimensional, quantitative, and multi-spectral.

China started to develop its polar-orbiting meteorological satellites in the 1960s. The late Chinese Premier ZHOU Enlai pointed out in 1970 that China shall develop its own meteorological satellites. ZHOU personally mandated a range of missions for the purpose, which kicked off China's R&D of its first generation polar orbiting meteorological satellite FengYun-1, or FY-1. A second-generation LEO observation satellite called Feng Yun 3 was reportedly under development in the early 1990s with substantially advanced multi spectral imaging systems (Reference 625).

The main mission objectives of the FY-3 are:

• To provide the global sounding of 3-dimensional atmospheric thermal and moisture structures and the cloud and precipitation parameters to support global numerical weather prediction.
• To provide global images to monitor large scale meteorological and/or hydrological disasters and biosphere environment anomaly.
• To provide important geophysical parameters to support study on global change and climate monitoring.
• To perform data collection.

To achieve above-mentioned objectives, a meteorological core payload with eight main instruments and two complementary instruments are considered.

FY-3 meteorological satellites have their applications mainly in the following four aspects:

• Provide global meteorological parameters with a balanced resolution to numerical weather prediction. Provide diverse meteorological and geophysical parameters to global change studies, including climate variation studies, and to climate projections.
• Monitor large-scale natural disasters and surface ecological environment.
• Provide weather information on any part of the world for specialized activities, including aviation, marine activities among others, and provide meteorological support for national defense.

FY-3 satellites are developed and manufactured in two groups. FY-3A and FY-3B in the first group were launched on May 7, 2008 and November 5, 2010, respectively. With a further enhanced remote sensing capability, the second group of FY-3 satellites were launched after 2013, with a life expectancy for 15 years.

The FY-3 polar-orbiting satellite series was developed for LEO service from 2008 to 2021 or beyond. Basically, the FY-3 series are capable of global atmospheric sounding, IR/VIS/Microwave imaging, and atmospheric composition measurement, including O3 amount, CO2 amount et al. There is plan to develop the capability of precipitation sounding with radar for future missions.

Just as the development of the Fengyun-1 meteorological satellite was gradually on the right track, the proposal to develop China's second-generation polar-orbiting meteorological satellite was placed in front of everyone. "The 1990s was the most difficult time for the development of meteorological satellites. But despite this, everyone is still full of hope. Many people are developing China's second-generation polar-orbiting meteorological satellite while developing the Fengyun-1 meteorological satellite. The satellite is planning." Yang Jun said.

After 8 years of "hard war of resistance", Chinese astronauts and meteorologists have completed the road that the United States took 40 years to complete. On May 27, 2008, Fengyun-3A, a new generation of polar orbiting meteorological satellite of China, was successfully sent into the predetermined orbit. The satellite was sent into space together with 11 advanced remote sensing instruments and 99 spectral detection channels, 5 of which have a resolution of 250 meters. On the Fengyun-1A star 30 years ago, there was only 1 instrument and 5 channels.

In addition to quantitative breakthroughs, Fengyun-3A star pays more attention to qualitative breakthroughs. It has realized the four major technological breakthroughs of Chinese meteorological satellites from single remote sensing imaging to comprehensive detection of the earth's environment, from optical remote sensing to microwave remote sensing, from kilometer-level resolution to 100-meter-level resolution, and from domestic reception to polar reception.

The first satellite of Fengyun 3 series (FY-3A) was a research and development satellite. FY-3A launched successfully at 11 am of May 27,2008. Since then, FY-3A worked well on the commission test phase. China's new generation Fengyun-3A weather satellite started its round-the-clock operations on 13 January 2009, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). CNSA director Sun Laiyan said the transfer of the satellite to the China Meteorological Administration marked the birth of China's new generation of polar-orbiting weather satellites.

The new Fengyun 3B satellite was launched 04 November 2010 from northern China's Shanxi Province. Lu Naimeng, Chief Director of Fengyun 3B Terrestrial System, said, "The success of a remote sensing satellite consists of three procedures: first the rocket should send the satellite into the orbit, then the remote sensing instruments should work well, and finally the terrestrial system must receive figures from the satellite, and deal with them. The figures we received today are quite accurate. We should decide which instrument should be turned on first according to its functions. Today we turn on the visible light channel. Seeing from the image analysis, the Fengyun 3B is superior to the previous satellite."

The third FengYun satellite (FY-3C) was successfully launched into morning-configured orbit on 23 September 2013. The cross-tracking scanning instrument microwave temperature sounder (MWTS) on board FY-3C provides 13 channels, many more than the four MWTS channels on board FY-3A/B, at frequencies ranging from 50 to 60 GHz, which allow for probing the atmospheric temperature under all conditions except heavy precipitation. The satellite Fengyun 3C (FY3C) carried a global navigation satellite system(GNSS) occultation sounder, which is the first BDS/GPS compatible radio occultation sounder in the world and records both GPS and BDS measurements. It provides an opportunity for investigating the precision real-time orbit determination based on space-borne GPS/BDS measurements.

China launched a new meteorological satellite, Fengyun-3D, at 2:35 a.m. Beijing Time 15 November 2017 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern China's Shanxi province. A Long March-4C rocket carried the satellite into space. 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 formed 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.

China successfully launched the Fengyun-3E satellite on 05 July 2021, making it the world's first meteorological satellite that has been sent into the dawn-dusk orbit for civil service. It would fill the gap in observation data, and realize a full coverage of global meteorological changes. The Fengyun-3E satellite was sent into preset orbit via a Long March-4C carrier rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province at 7:28 am, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA.)

The satellite would improve the accuracy of China's weather forecasting and enrich the meteorological satellite observation system, the CNSA said. Designed to last for eight years and equipped with 11 remote sensing payloads, Fengyun-3E is the world's first meteorological satellite sent into the early morning orbit for civil service.

Together with Fengyun-3C and -3D, the three satellites will form a network and monitor the global meteorological changes from dawn to morning and afternoon periods, realizing a full coverage of global observation data, according to China Space News, the newspaper co-published by two state-owned industry giants.

The Fengyun-3E orbits along the Earth's terminator, or the twilight zone, which is a fuzzy line that separates day and night. Affected by the rising and setting of the sun, these periods of time are often the ones in a day with the most dramatic weather changes. The satellite flies over the same place every morning and then fly to the other side of the Earth in the evening, so that the most critical moments at dawn and dusk can be recorded to provide richer and more accurate observation data both for China and the world.

The detailed descriptions for main instruments are as follows:

1. VIRR (Visible and Infra-Red Radiometer), flying on FY-3C, 10-channel VIS/IR radiometer for multi-purpose imagery, resolution 1.1 km, swath 2800 km.
2. MERSI (Medium Resolution Spectral Imager), flying on FY-3C/D, is a 20- channel radiometer (19 in VIS/NIR/SWIR + one TIR at 10.0-12.5µm) for ocean colour and vegetation indexes. Resolution 250m for 4 VIS/NIR and the TIR channel, 1 km for other channels; swath 2800 km. Since FY-3D, the MERSI is evolved to MERSI-2, which has 25 channels (19 in VIS/NIR/SWIR + 6 TIR from 3.7.0-12.5µm).
3. MWRI (Micro-Wave Radiation Imager), flying on FY-3C/D , 6-frequencies/12 channels (all frequencies in double polarization) for multi-purpose MW imagery. Conical-scanning radiometer, resolution 9.5 x 15 km at 90 GHz, 30 x 50 km at 19GHz, swath 1400 km.
4. IRAS (Infra-Red Atmospheric Sounder), flying on FY-3C, 26-channel IR radiometer (including one VIS) for temperature/humidity sounding, resolution 17 km, swath 2250 km.
5. HIRAS-2 (High Spectral Infrared Atmospheric Sounder -II), flying on FY-3D, is a infrared sounding instruments with 2287 channels, nadir spatial resolution of 16 km, cross-track scanning model, mainly for numerical weather prediction and atmospheric composition detection.
6. MWTS-2 (Micro-Wave Temperature Sounder), flying on FY-3C/D, 13-channel MW radiometer for nearly-all-weather temperature sounding, 54 GHz band, resolution 70 km, cross-track scanning, swath 2200 km.
7. MWHS-2 (Micro-Wave Humidity Sounder), flying on FY-3C/D, 15 channel MW radiometer for nearly-all-weather humidity sounding. 183GHz band, resolution 15 km, cross-track scanning, swath 2700 km.
8. TOU/SBUS (Total Ozone Unit and Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Sounder), flying on FY-3C, a suite of two UV spectro-radiometers, one (TOU) with 6 channels in the 308- 360 nm range, resolution 50 km, swath 3000 km, for total ozone; the other one (SBUS) with 12 channels in the range 252-340 nm, resolution 200 km, nadir viewing, for ozone profile.
9. ERM (Earth Radiation Measurement), flying on FY-3C, 2 broad-band channel radiometer for earth reflected solar flux and earth emitted thermal flux over total (0.2- 50µm) and short (0.2-4.3µm) waveband; resolution 28km, cross-track scanning with 2 degree NFOV, swath 2300 km, nadir viewing with 120 degree WFOV.
10. SIM (Solar Irradiance Monitor), flying on FY-3C, 3-channel radiometer over 0.2-50µm waveband for the total incident solar flux; viewing the Sun near the north pole area. GNOS(GNSS Occultation Sounder), flying on FY-3D, receives signal from GPS or China BeiDou satellites; observing over 1000 occultation events per day.
11. GAS (Greenhouse gases Absorption Spectrometer), flying on FY-3D, has four narrow bands with center wavelength located at 0.76um, 1.6um, 2.1um and 2.3 um, which observes infrared light reflected from the earth's surface and the atmosphere. Column abundances of CO2 and CH4 are calculated from the observational data.
12. SEM (Space Environment Monitor), flying on FY-3C/D, is for in situ observation of charged particles in proximity of satellite. WAI (Wide-field Auroral Imager), flying on FY-3D, is for remote sensing imaging the N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (LBH) auroral bands. IPM (Ionospheric PhotoMeter), flying on FY-3D, for nadir remote sensing the airglow intensity of the OI 135.6nm and N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (LBH) bands.

CMA operates four ground stations to receive the FY polar orbiting satellite data. The ground stations are located in Beijing, Guangzhou, Urumuqi(including Kashgar substation), and Jiamusi. The received data are relayed to the Data Processing Center(DPC) through optical fiber link. The data is processed into various products, then disseminated, or archived. NSMC uses 2 antennas at the North Pole Satellite Station of Esrange Space enter, Kiruna, Sweden to receive FY-3 satellites under contract between CMA and SSC(Sweden Space Company) for long-term on-orbit services of FY-3 and other polar satellite to be operated by NSMC. SSC receives downlinks of FY-3 at the Esrange Ground Station and transfers the data to the Beijing DPC. NSMC has rented TrollSat Station of Norway located near the South Pole to receive FY-3D data.

China on 03 August 2023 successfully launched a meteorological satellite, the Fengyun-3 06, which is expected to provide more accurate forecasts for extreme weather conditions including rain storms and typhoons. The Fengyun-3 06 satellite lifted off on a Long March-4C carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China at 11:47 am, and will replace the Fengyun-3C satellite, which has been in operation for nearly a decade and should have retired years ago.

Building upon the global imaging and atmospheric vertical detection capabilities of the Fengyun-3 series, the new satellite focuses on Earth surface imaging observation. It is capable of obtaining global ozone distribution, monitoring global ice and snow coverage, sea surface temperature, natural disasters, and the ecological environment, the Global Times learned from the China National Space Administration.

Over the past 100 years, the average temperature of the Earth has increased by about 1 C, which, when averaged out to each year and each day, is an extremely subtle change. This requires that the meteorological satellite detection accuracy be high, and the detection error should not exceed the temperature deviation of the Earth.

As a "rising star," the new Fengyun-3 06 has significantly improved in various indicators compared to its predecessor, with more accurate detection, stronger capabilities, and longer lifespan, satisfying the upgrade needs of China's polar-orbiting meteorological satellite system. Specifically, the Fengyun-3 06 has a stronger detection capability and higher precision than the Fengyun C series with over 6,000 channels from UV to microwave detection, a lighter weight of 2.7 tons, as well as a longer lifespan of eight years compared with the five-year lifespan of the C series.

The satellite is also equipped with 10 remote sensing instruments that utilize advanced quantitative remote sensing technology, the Global Times has learned. Among them, two are newly developed ultraviolet high-spectral ozone detectors, which will fill the gap in China's Fengyun satellite's ultraviolet high-spectral atmospheric detection. Furthermore, the new satellite will provide remote sensing information required for short-term climate forecasting and climate change estimation, enhancing the ability to respond to emergencies and improving comprehensive meteorological disaster prevention and reduction capabilities.

With the successful launch of Fengyun-3 06, it will now undergo in-orbit testing, while Fengyun-3C continues its in-orbit operations. Once officially commissioned, it will take over the morning orbit meteorological operations from Fengyun-3C. With the network integration of the Fengyun-3D, -3E, and -3G satellites, the comprehensive observation capabilities of the Fengyun low-orbit meteorological satellite constellation will be fully utilized, effectively improving the accuracy and timeliness of global numerical weather forecasting.