The Meteosat Third Generation system imaging system is now complete after Arianespace launched the second satellite on Aug. 27.
European meteorological agency EUMETSAT confirmed after the launch that the MTG-I2 is in orbit and operating as expected. Teams have established communication and the spacecraft deployed its solar panels. As part of the launch and early operations phase, the satellite will now orbit raise to its final position before on-orbit calibration begins.
Arianespace launched MTG-12 in an Ariane 6 mission from French Guiana on Thursday at 5:11 p.m. local time (4:11 p.m. ET). The satellite separated from the launcher 36 minutes into the mission. Ariane 6 launched the satellite to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
For Arianespace, this was the first Ariane 6 launch to GTO, which CEO David Cavaillolès called a “major milestone” for the program. This was the fourth Ariane 6 mission this year.
MTG-I2 will provide critical weather information for Europe and Africa, including fire-detection capabilities. EUMETSAT said the satellite will provide more rapid observations, refreshing imagery every 2.5 minutes. This will help meteorological services identify hazardous developments sooner. It is also equipped with its dedicated fire-detection channels to identify and characterize active fires.
“With MTG-I2, we are unlocking the complete capabilities of this extraordinary European system. In particular, MTG-I2 will enable much more frequent observations over Europe, giving forecasters a more continuous view of rapidly developing weather and helping national meteorological services provide timely and reliable warnings,” commented EUMETSAT Director General Phil Evans.
Thales Alenia Space was the prime contractor for the MTG-12 satellite, built in collaboration with OHB. Teledyne Space Imaging supplied the CIS111 detector within its Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) instrument, designed to provide frequent, high-resolution observations of the Earth.
The satellite will operate in tandem with the first imager, Meteosat-12 launched in 2022, and MTG-S1, launched in July 2025.
