With a global audience watching in anticipation at launch events and online, Metop Second Generation A1 (Metop-SGA1) – also carrying the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission – lifted off on an Ariane-62 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 02:37 CEST on 13 August. As the first satellite in the EUMETSAT Polar System – Second Generation (EPS-SG) programme, the launch marks a major step toward delivering more precise forecasts and earlier warnings to help protect lives and property from extreme weather. EPS-SG will also support economies across Europe, with an expected return on investment of at least 20 to 1.

Now heading into a polar orbit around 800 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, Metop-SGA1 will soon begin transmitting a wealth of timely, high-resolution and high-quality observations from six complementary instruments. These data will continue the Metop series of satellites’ role as Europe’s most important source of meteorological observations for forecasts ranging from 12 hours to 10 days ahead. For example, Metop-SGA1 observations will help meteorologists improve short- and medium-term weather models that can save lives by enabling early warnings of storms, heatwaves, and other disasters, and help farmers to protect crops, grid operators to manage energy supply, and pilots and sailors to navigate safely.

Phil Evans, EUMETSAT Director-General, said: “Extreme weather has cost Europe hundreds of billions euros and tens of thousands of lives over the past 40 years – storms like Boris, Daniel and Hans, record heatwaves and fierce wildfires are just the latest reminders. The launch of Metop-SGA1 is a major step forward in giving national weather services in our member states sharper tools to save lives, protect property, and build resilience against the climate crisis. These positive impacts will be felt even beyond that and over the Atlantic, as Metop-SGA1 is Europe’s first contribution to the Joint Polar System with the United States’ National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This milestone reflects years of teamwork across EUMETSAT, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Union, the French Space Agency (CNES), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Airbus, Thales Alenia Space, and many others. This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we work to ensure the satellite settles into orbit and starts delivering the vital data it was built to provide.”

At the heart of better forecasts

More than 95% of the data used in numerical weather prediction comes from satellites –a share set to grow as Metop Second Generation satellites enter service. Unlike geostationary spacecraft fixed above the equator, polar-orbiting satellites like Metop-SGA1 travel north to south as Earth rotates beneath them, delivering global coverage and a rich variety of observations. Over the next two decades, three consecutive pairs of Metop-SG satellites will loop the planet 14 times daily, with advanced instruments collecting high-resolution data on the atmosphere, oceans, ice sheets, and land surfaces.

The Metop-SGA1 satellite hosts a total of six atmospheric sounding and imaging instrument missions. The payload includes the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer – New Generation (IASI-NG), METimage (a visual and infrared imager), the Microwave Sounder (MWS), a Radio Occultation sounder, and the Multi-Viewing, Multi-Channel, Multi-Polarisation Imager (3MI) – the latter being an entirely new instrument designed to enhance the monitoring of aerosols and cloud properties. Metop-SGA1 also carries the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission, which will supply detailed data on atmospheric composition and trace gases that affect air quality, helping health authorities to monitor air pollution.

Christoph Kautz, Director for Space Policy, Earth Observation and Satellite Navigation at the European Commission, said: “The successful launch of Copernicus Sentinel-5 is a testimony to our close cooperation with EUMETSAT and is an outstanding achievement that will strengthen Europe’s capacity to monitor pollution and advance climate science. Thanks to the synergies with EUMETSAT’s meteorological mission, it was decided to embark Sentinel-5 on Metop-SGA1. This joint approach not only optimises the overall mission costs but also lowers the environmental impact by minimising the number of launches required.’’

Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA, said: “Metop-SGA1 and Copernicus Sentinel-5 show the power of European collaboration in building long-term missions that help us take the pulse of our planet. This successful launch will ultimately give us an unprecedented view of our atmosphere and climate. The data will allow us to monitor air quality, track greenhouse gases, and observe clouds, trace gases and ozone in more detail than ever. By feeding these insights into models and tools, we can strengthen climate action, improve public health, and deliver benefits for communities across Europe and beyond.”

For further updates on Metop-SGA1, visit EUMETSAT’s launch hub, which features news, interviews, and insights into the satellite’s journey.

Source: BUSINESS WIRE