Launch nears for Europe’s new weather watcher
12 March 2012
The launch of Europe’s latest weather satellite is only months away. Two Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites are already in orbit, but the services they provide are so vital that a third spacecraft is nearing completion. Mission controllers are already being trained to operate the new weather watcher.
The 2 tonne MSG-3 is the third in a family of four European satellites designed to observe the changing weather over Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The first in the series, MSG-1 – renamed Meteosat-8 when it began operations – was launched in 2002. MSG-2 (Meteosat-9) followed three years later. The MSG spacecraft follow on from a highly successful series of meteorological satellites that started with Meteosat-1 in 1977.
From a geostationary orbit, 35,800 km above the equator, the spinning, cylinder-shaped Meteosats send back detailed images every 15 minutes. These are the images that we see during weather forecasts on TV and Internet sites. The data from these eyes in the sky give advance warnings of storms, blizzards or floods, helping to save lives and large sums of money.
In addition to sending back images in many different wavelengths of visible and infrared light, the MSG satellites carry an instrument that enables scientists to work out whether Earth is cooling or heating up. A third payload is used for search and rescue services, relaying distress signals from aircraft and ships.
The MSG satellites are built in Cannes, France, by Thales Alenia Space. ESA manages their development and handles their early orbital operations. About 10 days after the launch, control of MSG-3 will be handed over to EUMETSAT - the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites – which is based in Darmstadt, Germany.
