missions

FY-4A

Compiled from public sources on 2026-06-14. Not independently verified by China Meteorological Administration.

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FY-4A (Fengyun-4A) is China's first third-generation geostationary meteorological satellite and the initial flight unit of the FY-4 series, operated by the China Meteorological Administration. The satellite launched in December 2016 and is currently stationed at 123.5 degrees East following a relocation in February 2025, with prior operational positions at 105 degrees East and 86.5 degrees East.^[1]^[2]

The Earth-observation sensor stack includes three instruments. The Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager (AGRI) is a multi-channel visible and infrared imager supporting atmospheric motion vectors, sea surface temperature, precipitation estimates, and thermal anomaly detection.^[3] The Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder (GIIRS) provides atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles and tropospheric trace-gas column measurements.^[4] The Lightning Mapping Imager (LMI) detects optical transients associated with lightning activity across the full disc.^[5]

Ancillary payloads include the SEP/HEPS space-environment particle monitor and a data collection system (DCS). WMO OSCAR records the mission as operational as of April 2026.

Full specification

All fields

current status	operational
operator	China Meteorological Administration
launch vehicle	casc-long-march-3b
Launched	2016-12-11
orbit type	Geostationary orbit, 123.5 E, 35786 km; relocated after 18 February 2025 for full-disc coverage
revisit days	0.0104
tasking supported	false
current geographic priority	Full-disc geostationary meteorological coverage from 123.5 E, with historical service at 105 E and 86.5 E
Last updated	2026-06-14
claim status	agency-sourced

Where this fits, supply chain

Compositional position

this ——— FY-4A Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager payload

this ——— Prototype Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder payload

this ——— Lightning Mapping Imager payload

this ——— FY-4A Space Environment Package payload

this ——— FY-4A Data Collection Service payload

this ——— weather-nowcasting related-topic

this ——— Atmospheric Wind Observation related-topic

this ——— Atmospheric profiling related-topic

this ——— precipitation related-topic

this ——— Sea surface temperature related-topic

this ——— Air quality related-topic

this ——— Wildfire related-topic

Atmospheric motion vectors (AMV) → demonstrated FY-4A Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager

Sea-surface temperature retrieval → demonstrated FY-4A Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager

Satellite precipitation retrieval → demonstrated FY-4A Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager

Thermal anomaly detection → demonstrated FY-4A Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager

Atmospheric limb sounding → demonstrated Prototype Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder

Tropospheric column mapping (NO2/SO2) → demonstrated Prototype Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder

Sources

[1]WMO OSCAR satellite record: FY-4Aagency doc2026-06-14
[2]NSMC FY-4A satellite pageagency doc2026-06-14
[3]NSMC FY-4A instruments pageagency doc2026-06-14
[4]WMO OSCAR instrument record: Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imageragency doc2026-06-14
[5]WMO OSCAR instrument record: GIIRSagency doc2026-06-14
[6]WMO OSCAR instrument record: Lightning Mapping Imageragency doc2026-06-14
[7]WMO OSCAR instrument record: SEP/HEPSagency doc2026-06-14
[8]WMO OSCAR instrument record: Data Collection Service (FY)agency doc2026-06-14

Cite https://eo-atlas.org/missions/fy-4a Markdown twin → Field definitions →