ESA - meteosat third generation

ESA title

The mission

Building on the long-standing partnership between ESA and Eumetsat, Meteosat Third Generation will guarantee the continuity of data for weather forecasting from geostationary orbit for the next two decades. The full MTG system is based on a series of two types of satellite: four MTG-Imagers and two MTG-Sounders.

Launches

MTG-I1: 13 December 2022 from Kourou, French Guiana on Ariane 5
MTG-I2: 27 August 2026 from Kourou, French Guiana on Ariane 6
MTG-S1: 1 July 2025 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on SpaceX Falcon 9

6 satellite system
4 Imager satellites
2 Sounder satellites
20-year operational life

meteosat third generation

MTG-I2 fairing jettison

Watch live: MTG-I2 set for liftoff

24/08/2026 145 views 3 likes

MTG-I mission kit cover

MTG-I mission kit

Press Release N° 38–2026

Media invitation: MTG-I2 pre-launch online briefings

Media representatives are invited to join online media briefings in English, French and German ahead of the launch of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) Imager weather satellite, MTG-I2.

10/08/2026 671 views

Seven members of ESA’s MTG team at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The team behind Europe’s latest weather satellite

06/08/2026 1830 views 21 likes

MTG-I’s orbit is geostationary

Lightning watch satellites spotted mystery Atlantic fireball

28/07/2026 1378 views 10 likes

MTG-Sounder satellite over the equator

MTG-S1 commissioned and in position for weather forecasting

15/07/2026 1634 views 41 likes

MTG-I2 was taken out of its protective casing at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana

Unpacking Europe’s new weather imagers

07/07/2026 2235 views 28 likes

Press Release N° 33–2026

Call for interest: MTG-I2 launch media programme at Europe’s Spaceport

Media representatives are invited to express their interest in attending the media programme for the launch of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) Imager weather satellite, MTG-I2, at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

02/07/2026 2133 views

FLEX, Sentinel-3C and MTG-I2 on show at TAS cleanrooms

Three ESA-built satellites on show in France

16/04/2026 4217 views 59 likes

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Discover Meteosat Third Generation

Meteosat Third Generation weather satellites

Introducing MTG

21344 views 36 likes

MSG-4 in orbit

Solid heritage

1347 views 2 likes

Rainy weather

Forecasting the weather

4564 views 3 likes

Cyclone Amphan making landfall over Bangladesh

Weathering the storm

1720 views 3 likes

Observing fast-evolving weather with MTG

Satellite constellation

3808 views 18 likes

FCI at Test Centre

Flexible Combined Imager

8215 views 26 likes

MTG to monitor lightning

Lightning Imager

14409 views 17 likes

Meteosat Third Generation Sounder up close

Infrared Sounder

4235 views 8 likes

Testing MTG imager

Facts and figures

3613 views 14 likes

MTG-I and MTG-S

Team talk: 10 things about Meteosat Third Generation

974 views 1 likes

MTG-Sounder satellite over the equator

Team talk: Soundbites from the cleanroom with MTG-S1

358 views 0 likes

MTG-I mission kit cover

MTG-I mission kit

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