Meosat 3 satellite, part of the MTG Space segment. Photo: ESA

[Via Satellite 12-04-13] Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) for the ground segment of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) program. Thales Alenia Space will lead a consortium of industrial partners to build the Instrument Data Processing Facility (IDPF), giving the company a driving role in ensuring that the MTG imager satellite geometric and radiometric product performance is achieved.

The MTG space segment, which is being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) fulfilling user and system requirements defined by EUMETSAT, will comprise six satellites: four imaging satellites and two sounding satellites. The imaging satellites will provide images every 10 minutes using 16 spectral channels. The sounding satellites will deliver vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and humidity. They will also carry an ultraviolet visible near-infrared sounder developed as part of the Copernicus (formerly Global Monitoring for Environment and Security, GMES) initiative to analyze atmospheric gases. These satellites are expected to significantly improve the quality and reliability of meteorologic weather modeling and forecasts.