MTG-S1 hosting Sentinel-4 encapsulation family photo

On 25 June, with just a few days to go before scheduled launch, the Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite, that is hosting the instrument for the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission, was ready to be placed inside the rocket fairing.

This is the last time the satellite engineers have hands-on manual control of the MTG-S1 satellite – and is the last time the team will see the satellite and instruments that have taken years of planning, design and testing. Mating and encapsulation are the final phases of activity before launch. During these activities, the satellite keeps its solar arrays in a folded position like a moth inside its cocoon.

During this milestone and just like the primary mission instrument, the Infrared Sounder, the Copernicus Sentinel-4 ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared (UVN) imaging spectrometer was kept switched off.

Read full story: MTG-S1 satellite hosting the Sentinel-4 instrument is ready for liftoff