China is set to launch 14 meteorological satellites into the orbit over the next decade, a senior Chinese official said at a press conference on Monday.

If the plans prevail, the communist country plans to launch one Fengyun-II satellite, four Fengyun-III, three Fengyun-IV, and other satellites with multiple meteorological purposes by 2025, according to Wu Yanhua, deputy head of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, during a Fengyun satellite development seminar.

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Fengyun satellites are remote-sensing meteorological satellites developed by China, Xinhua reported.

Since 1988, the county has sent 14 Fengyun satellites, and half of these are still in the orbit as part of the World Meteorological Organization network.

Meanwhile, China recently completed its first in-space refuel of an orbital satellite. The country's first in-space refueling system, which is developed by the National University of Defend Technology, is called Tianyuan-1. It was launched on June 23 aboard the Long March-7 carrier rocket.  

Scientists revealed that "the injection process was stable, and measurement and control were precise."

Last month, China announced that it would launch five new satellites over the next five years, including the Sino-European joint mission satellite known as SMILE, which will concentrate on solar activities and their impact on the earth's environment and space weather.

Aside from that, it will also launch another 40 Beidou navigation satellites, in the hope of ending its dependency on the United States' Global Positioning System. China also plans to expand the Beidou coverage across China's Belt and Road project by 2018 and across the world by 2020.

Tagschina, meteorological satellite, Satellite, Fengyun satellites, orbital satellite, space exploration