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N° 38–2026: Media invitation: MTG-I2 pre-launch online briefings

10 August 2026

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.

On 27 August, MTG-I2 will be launched on board an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana and placed in geostationary orbit, a first for an Ariane 6.

MTG-I2 is the third satellite to join the MTG constellation for Eumetsat – the first MTG-Imager and the MTG-Sounder are already in orbit. The mission is designed to produce data and images for weather forecasting and climate monitoring in Europe and North Africa with unprecedented detail. This means a significant increase in quality, quantity and frequency of data, enabling forecasters to access new data products and services. The data enable the nowcasting of severe weather events and improved numerical weather prediction.

Briefing schedule 

Interested journalists are kindly requested to register here by 17:00 CEST on Monday 17 August. Only registered media will be able to attend and ask questions.

Wednesday 19th August (all times in CEST)

14:00-15:00: Briefing in English 

  • Caroline Arnoux, Head of the Ariane Business Unit, Arianespace 
  • James Champion, MTG Project Manager, ESA
  • Susanne Dieterle, MTG System Manager, Eumetsat
  • Olivier Brize, MTG Program Manager, Thales Alenia Space

 This session will be recorded and will be available on the ESA website.

15:00-16:00: Briefing in French

  • Caroline Arnoux, Head of the Ariane Business Unit, Arianespace 
  • Pieter Van den Braembussche, MTG System and Payload Manager, ESA
  • Susanne Dieterle, MTG System Manager, Eumetsat
  • Olivier Brize, MTG Program Manager, Thales Alenia Space
  • Sylvain Le Moal, MTG-I Project Manager, Météo-France

16:00-17:00: Briefing in German

  • Martin Peccia, MTG Product Assurance and Safety Manager, ESA
  • Alexander Schmid, MTG programme manager, Eumetsat
  • Prof. Dr. Sarah C. Jones, President of the Deutscher Wetterdienst and Dr. Ulrich Blahak, Senior Scientist, Deutscher Wetterdienst

Media are also invited to join the launch event at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands on 27 August. To register your interest, please contact media@esa.int.

More information on MTG-Imager satellites

The MTG-Imager satellites will work in tandem, and both carry two instruments: a Lightning Imager and a Flexible Combined Imager. The Lightning Imagers offer new capabilities for European meteorological satellites by continuously monitoring for lightning. By doing this from geostationary orbit, which is at an altitude of about 36 000 km above the equator, they can scan more than 80% of Earth’s surface seen from that viewpoint.

The Flexible Combined Imagers, on the other hand, build a picture of fast-evolving weather systems and can be used to issue timely weather warnings. They are particularly relevant for air traffic safety and can scan Earth’s surface as seen from orbit in just 10 minutes and the whole of Europe every 2.5 minutes.

The MTG constellation is expected to produce at least 50 times more data than the previous Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites when fully operational.

More information on Ariane 6

This will be the ninth flight of Europe’s heavy-lift rocket Ariane 6. It will use two P120C-based solid-propellant rocket motors to liftoff and launch MTG-I2 to a geostationary orbit. This will be the first mission to this destination for Ariane 6 and the farthest the rocket will have flown so far.

ESA manages the Ariane 6 development programme, ensuring autonomous access to space for the benefit of European citizens, with ArianeGroup as prime industrial contractor. Arianespace is the launch service provider for this flight, VA270.

Images

ESA's Photo Library for Professionals: https://www.esa-photolibrary.com/ 

Terms and conditions for using ESA images: www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly spaceinimages@esa.int 

Videos

ESA's Video Library for Professionals: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos 

Terms and conditions for using ESA video: www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly spaceinvideos@esa.int 

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About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 23 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with three Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement. 

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int.