Tomorrow 21 March 2006, MetOp, Europe's first weather satellite in polar orbit, will be rolled out for the media in Toulouse, France. The launch is scheduled for summer 2006 from Baikonur.
Today's Exchange provides the images for the story, including new 3-D graphics of the satellite and its main instruments, and images of MetOp development.

""The first MetOp, ready for launch""
MetOp launch, scheduled end June 2006
TC 10.00.40 This is how MetOp, Europeís first polar orbiting weather satellite willl look like after launch, an event scheduled for summer 2006. Image 3D
10.00.50 MetOp has a double mission: first, to provide meteorologists with new data that will allow them to make more accurate medium and long-term weather forecasts. And also to provide data for scientists working on the problem of climate change. Room météo +images 3D europe images of scientists CRYOSAT
10.01.11 The three satellites that will make up the MetOp programme are currently in different stages of construction. Each satellite will have a useful life of 5 years. The operational duration of the mission will be 14 years. Each the size of a small coach and weighing approximately 4.5 tons, these satellites are, after the second largest earthobservation satellites ever built in Europe. IMAGES METSOP