MetOp-SG-A1 complete

With all instruments integrated, the first MetOp Second Generation-A, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite is now fully assembled and on schedule for liftoff in 2025.

MetOp-SG-A1 has been at Airbus’ facilities in France for around two years where engineers have been carefully integrating its instrument package. These sensors include an infrared sounding interferometer, a radio occultation instrument and a microwave sounder, which use different techniques to measure atmospheric humidity and temperature, along with an instrument that images aerosols, and the Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument that provides data on air pollutants.

The MetOp-Second Generation mission comprises three successive pairs of satellites to deliver data for weather forecasting and climate prediction for over 20 years. Working as a pair in polar orbit, the A-type and the B-type satellites are equipped with complementary suites of instruments to provide high-resolution measurements of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds, and more.

Read full story: First all-new MetOp complete and sibling in testing