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MetOp: ESA controllers ready for critical launch and early orbit phase

16 October 2006

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MetOp Flight Operation Directors (FODs) Andreas Rudolph, left, and John Dodsworth, right, pictured in ESOC's Main Control Room, 10 October 2006. Dodsworth is FOD for the 'A' Mission Control Team, while Rudolph is rosponsible for the 'B' MCT. The overall team is split into two to provide 24/7 coverage durign the critical launch and early orbit phase (LEOP), running for 3 days starting with the scheduled 17 October 2006 launch.

Credits: ESA-D.Scuka

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The MetOp series of three satellites will be Europe's first polar-orbiting missions dedicated to operational meteorology and represents the European commitment to a new venture with the United States. They will be launched sequentially providing data until at least 2020. The first, MetOp-A, is due for launch 17 October 2006 on a Soyuz/ST Fregat rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab

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The Kiruna S- and X-band station supports Envisat and ERS-2, and is scheduled to support CryoSat-2 in 2009. For ESTRACK, Kiruna hosts one 15m and one 13m antenna. Both operate in S-band for uplink and downlink and X-band for downlink. The station is located at Salmijärvi, 38 km east of Kiruna, in northern Sweden. The station is equipped for tracking, telemetry and command operations as well as for reception, recording, processing and dissemination of data from the sensor instruments onboard ERS-2 and Envisat.

The station is connected to the ESTRACK Control Centre (ECC) at ESOC via dedicated voice and data circuits. The station is remotely monitored and controlled from the ECC under nominal operating conditions. A mini control centre is located at the station to provide backup.

Credits: ESA-S.Corvaja

LEOP marks three days of critical activities

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Main Control Room at ESOC with mission control workstations and typical spacecraft mimic display as inset.

Credits: European Space Agency, ESA

MetOp

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Audio Q&A: MetOp co-Flight Directors

Europe's first polar-orbiting weather satellite ready for launch Integration of MetOp upper-composite and third-stage complete Safe arrival at the launch facility for MetOp MetOp encapsulated in fairing MetOp integrated with Fregat upper-stage MetOp launch campaign resumed MetOp to be launched in October Launch of MetOp-A postponed MetOp ready for launch Upper-composite transferred to launcher integration facility Last-ever look at MetOp MetOp joins Fregat upper-stage MetOp fuelled and pressurised MetOp-A gets green light for 17 July launch date MetOp – last phase of testing before launch MetOp satellite shipped to Baikonur on 18 April

In depth

Soyuz launch vehicle Baikonur