The models of Fengyun-3 and Fengyun-4 were unveiled at an international aviation and aerospace exhibition in Zhuhai, in southern China's Guangdong Province. [File Photo: cnsphoto]

China will launch a new generation of a polar orbit meteorological satellite, Fengyun-3, in May to improve the precision of weather forecasting, China News Service reported.

In Beijing on Tuesday, officials at a work conference designed to coordinate the satellite's launch work decided that Fengyun-3 would use a Long March 4-C rocket as its carrier.

Preparations for the completion of satellite in early March and its launch in May at Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, in northern China's Shanxi Province, were also approved at the conference.

Vice Director Sun Laiyan, of the Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense, noted at the meeting that Fengyun-3 would play a significant role in measuring weather and climate, diminishing losses from natural disasters and eliminating vague weather forecasts.

Fengyun-3 is predicted to be a landmark development in meteorological satellites. China has launched several weather satellites in the Fengyun series, which means "wind and cloud" in English.

(CRI January 24, 2008)