Launched since 1988 into polar Sun-synchronous and geosynchronous orbit, each three-axis stabilized Fengyun satellite is built by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) and operated by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

[6] In this orbit, FY-1 satellites orbited the Earth at both a low altitude (approximate 900 km above the Earth's surface), and at a high inclination between 98.8° and 99.2° traversing the North Pole every 14 minutes, giving FY-1-class satellites global meteorological coverage with a rapid revisit time and closer proximity to the clouds they image.

[6] FY-1B, launched in September 1990 along with the first two QQW (Qi Qui Weixing) balloon satellites,[9] lasted until late 1992 when its attitude control system also failed.

[11][12][6] FY-1C and FY-1D satellites also carried on board a high-energy particle detector (HEPD) for study of the space environment, contributing to their increased mass.

[20] Satellites of the Fengyun 2 class have a mass of 1,380 kilograms, use solar cells and batteries for power, and a FG-36 apogee motor jettisoned after attaining orbit.

[20] Chinese participation in the monitoring of auroras for scientific and space weather investigation was initiated with the launch of the Fengyun-3D satellite, which carries a wide-field auroral imager.