China launches Fengyun-4A satellite into orbit

China launched the first of its new generation of geostationary weather satellites, Fengyun-4A, into the orbit on Sunday.

The satellite which is an upgrade of China's meteorological satellites in geostationary orbit, is the country's first quantitative remote-sensing satellite in high orbit, reports state owned Xinhua news agency.

The satellite was launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

This was the 242nd mission of China's Long March series of rockets.

According to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, the satellite will make high time, spatial and spectral resolution observations of the atmosphere, clouds and space environment of China and surrounding regions and significantly improving capabilities of weather and climate forecasts.

The satellite will be used by the China Meteorological Administration.

Previously, 14 weather satellites have been successfully launched by China and seven of which are still in orbit.