Eumetsat, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, has announced plans for the launch of its latest satellites. At a recent meeting in Toulouse, France, the 56th council of Eumetsat agreed the timetable for the next two years.

The second Meteosat second-generation satellite, Meteosat 9 will be launched in June 2005. Meteosat 8 was launched in August 2002 and has been in operation since January 2004. Data delivered from these satellites helps weather services give more accurate predictions of extreme weather. This can save property, as well as lives.

Eumetsat has also announced that Europe’s first meteorological operational polar orbiting satellite, METOP, will be launched from Kazakhstan in April 2006.