China has launched its newest Feng Yun series weather satellite, Feng Yun 4A, into orbit using a Long March 3B/G2 rocket flying from the Xichang launch base at 1642 GMT on 10 December 2016. The Feng Yun 4 series is an improved spacecraft design over the previous geostationary Feng Yun 2 series with improved scanning and sounding capabilities, and will have equipment to monitor space weather. The 5,300 kg satellite was manufactured by the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering, which is, in turn part of the Shanghai Academy of Space Technology (SAST).
