Europe has a new satellite to monitor weather, climate and air pollution.
The Ariane 6 was launched from French Guiana on Tuesday evening at 2:37 and placed the four-tonne MetOp-SG-A1 satellite into orbit around the Earth. This was reported by the European Space Agency (ESA) on Wednesday morning. At 4:47 Belgian time, it was confirmed that MetOp-SG-A1 was operational: the solar panels had unfolded and the satellite was able to generate power.
The satellite was built by Airbus Defence and Space for EUMETSAT, the European organisation for the development and management of weather satellites, under a contract with ESA. The satellite is equipped with six instruments, including an infrared atmospheric sounder, a microwave sounder, a multispectral imaging radiometer and the Sentinel-5 spectrometer for Copernicus, the Earth observation component of the European Union's space programme. The latter instrument is designed to provide crucial data on air pollutants, ozone and climate-related gases.
"The MetOp-SG mission will now play a crucial role in improving weather forecasting and climate monitoring. Sentinel-5 will also provide timely data for monitoring air pollution and more," says Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA. "The launch of MetOp-SG-A1 is an important step forward in providing national weather services in our member states with better tools to save lives, protect property and build resilience to the climate crisis," says Phil Evans, Director General of EUMETSAT.
The MetOp-SG satellites orbit the Earth from pole to pole as the planet rotates beneath them, covering the entire globe approximately every 24 hours. Thanks to their relatively low orbit altitude, they can take highly detailed measurements. They are complemented by satellites from the Meteosat series. The second satellite of the third generation, MTG-S1, was launched in July.
