French launch company Arianespace has signed a contract with the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meterological Satellites (Eumetsat) to launch the MSG 3 weather satellite. The launch of MSG 3 is scheduled for the first half of 2009 from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, using an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Built by Alcatel Space, MSG 3 will weigh about 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds) at launch. It will have 12 channels and be capable of transmitting images every 15 minutes.

Separately, Arianespace announced that it had received a contract from Alcatel Space to launch France’s Syracuse IIIB military communications satellite for the French defense procurement agency DGA. The Ariane 5 launch is set for the end of 2005 from the Guiana Space Center.