China's new geo-stationary meteorological satellite, Fengyun-2E, finished in-orbit testing at the end of February, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said Monday.

"Fengyun-2E demonstrated stable operation and successfully performed all its functions, including image capture and broadcast, data collection and space environment monitoring," said CMA official Zhao Licheng.

Compared with its predecessors, Fengyun-2E showed improvement in 32 key technologies, said Zhao.

Test results showed the quality of visible light images captured by the new satellite were an improvement over those of its predecessors, while the scattered radiation on infrared images was reduced by 30 percent to 40 percent compared with Fengyun-2D, said Zhao.

Fengyun-2E would enter into in-orbit save-and-back-up mode. It would replace Fengyun-2C, which was due for retirement after four years of service, said Zhao.

The satellite, designed to monitor weather and natural disasters, was launched on Dec. 23 on a Long March-3A carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province.

The 1,390-kg craft was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, affiliated with the China Aerospace Science and Technology.

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2009)