China is scheduled to launch its third geostationary meteorological satellite, the Fengyun-2-06, announced sources with the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province Tuesday.

The satellite will be launched into the space on a Long March-3A carrier rocket, said the sources. The scheduled time of launch will be announced at a later date.

Both the rocket and the satellite are in good condition and the preparation is going well, according to the sources.

The Fengyun-2-06 will copy meteorological data from preceding satellites after orbit operation trials, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

It is designed to replace Fengyun-2-C, which has outlived its service.

China launched two satellites Fengyun-2-C and Fengyun-2-D in 2004 and 2006 respectively for meteorological observation. Both captured high-quality data for weather forecasting, climate change prediction and natural disaster supervision.

Statistics show more than 2,500 users, both at home and abroad, have accessed data processed by the Fengyun-2 satellite series.

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2008)