Following on from the first-generation MetOp series of satellites, the MetOp-Second Generation mission, or MetOp-SG for short, not only ensures the continuity of global observations from polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate analysis, but to do it even better. 

To ensure data delivery for over 20 years, the MetOp-SG mission comprises three successive pairs of satellites – an A-type and a B-type satellite that carry a different, but complementary, suite of remarkable instruments.  
 
The satellites operate in a sun-synchronous, quasi-polar orbit at an altitude of approximately 832 km, and orbit 90 degrees apart. Completing 14 orbits per day, each satellite can observe any location on Earth at least once daily, with more frequent observations near the poles. The polar regions are observed 14 times per day.