Eumetsat, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, said that August 23 will be the launch date for the MSG-2 satellite, which will be renamed Meteosat-9 once it is operational. The launch date was reached in consultation with the European Space Agency, industry and launch service provider Arianespace. Meteosat-9 will serve as a “hot backup” to Meteosat-8, which was declared operation in January 2004, and will provide data and images from geostationary orbit to help weather forecasters predict dangerous weather and improving climate research.