At 9:36 on April 16, the Long March 4B carrier rocket ignited and took off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, and then sent the Fengyun-3G star into the predetermined orbit. The launch mission was a complete success. The rockets and satellites for this mission were developed by the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Photo by Gu Hangyu at the moment of rocket ignition

Photo by Gu Hangyu

The Long March 4B carrier rocket is a three-stage carrier rocket with room temperature liquid. It has the ability to launch various types of satellites with different orbital requirements. It can implement single-satellite or multi-satellite launches with one rocket. Its 700-kilometer sun-synchronous circular orbit capability can reach 2.5 tons, this mission used the 4-meter fairing with the largest diameter of the Long March 4 series of launch vehicles.

The rocket is ready to go. Photo by Wu Jingbo

Fengyun-3G satellite is my country's first low-orbit non-sun-synchronous inclined orbit meteorological satellite, and it is also my country's first and the third international active precipitation measurement satellite. The satellite is equipped with 4 units/sets of active precipitation measurement radar, microwave imager, medium-resolution spectral imager, and global navigation satellite occultation detector, which will fill the gap in domestic precipitation three-dimensional tomographic detection data. So far, my country has successfully launched a total of 20 "two-generation and four-type" Fengyun meteorological satellites.

This launch is the 471st launch of the Long March series of launch vehicles.