Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) was developed by the European Space Agency according to the user requirements specified by EUMETSAT, and built by Alcatel Space Industries. The 3.7 metre high geostationary meteorological satellite for continuous weather and climate monitoring will open a whole range of opportunities for new and innovative applications. With two tonnes of orbiting mass, MSG weighs about three times as much as its predecessor Meteosat. Close to 30 square metres of solar panels provide permanent power of more than 700 Watt needed for instruments and communications systems during the designed lifetime of at least seven years. MSG carries an imaging radiometer, called SEVIRI, the GERB instrument to study the Earth's radiation balance, a search and rescue transponder and a powerful data transmitter to download and relay meteorological data and weather images on a continuous basis.
