The third orbital polar orbit satellite in Europe

The third MetOp satellite, MetOp-C, was launched on a Soyuz rocket from the European Spaceport in French Guiana to continue providing polar-orbit weather forecast data.

The Soyuz rocket, carrying the MetOp-C satellite (4083 kg), took off on 7 November at 00:47 GMT (01:47 CET).

Some 60 minutes later, the upper floor of Soyuz put MetOp-C into orbit and contact was established via the Yatharagga ground station in Australia.

MetOp-C is the latest in the current MetOp satellite series, following MetOp-A, launched in 2006, and MetOp-B, launched in 2012.

MetOp satellites are developed by ESA as part of a cooperation agreement to form the space segment of the Eumetsat Polar System. This system is Europe's contribution to a multi-orbit polar system shared with the NOAA US agency.

Stefane Carlier, MetOp project manager at ESA, said: "MetOp satellites carry a series of sensors that measure temperature, humidity, trace gases, the 39, Ozone and wind speed over the ocean. "
Josef Aschbacher, director of earth observation programs at ESA, said: "The MetOp program demonstrates the value of cooperation – a result achieved through the collaboration between ESA and Eumetsat .

"ESA's role is to design, build, and launch satellites that meet Eumetsat's requirements." The satellites carry instruments developed in Europe and the United States.

"MetOp-A was the first European weather satellite to orbit the Earth from one pole to another, at an altitude of about 800 km, completing the long series of Meteosat missions in orbit at 36,000 km above the equator.

"It was envisaged that each successive satellite would take over from its predecessor, but thanks to their extraordinary quality, the MetOp-A and MetOp-B satellites are still performing, and with MetOp-C, the mission will continue in the form of its own." a three-satellite constellation, further increasing the wealth of data for weather forecasts. "

"MetOp-C is now in the hands of the ESA Air Operations team in Germany for the early-stage operations phase of three days, up to the handover of operations in Eumetsat. "

Alain Ratier, general manager of Eumetsat, said: "Eumetsat thanks Arianespace for this new successful launch, after those of MetOp-A and MetOp-B.

"We are now ready to take over the air operations of ESA's European Spacecraft Operations Center to bring into service the satellite and instruments in orbit by the end of January. In partnership with ESA, CNES and NOAA, after that, Eumetsat scientists will validate the results with expert users, so that we can market products in real time in the spring of 2019.

"With three operational MetOp satellites in orbit, the Eumetsat Polar System will further improve weather forecasts up to 10 days in advance, in the interest of European citizens and our economy. "

"MetOp-C will also seamlessly transition with the Eumetsat – Second Generation Polar System, developed in cooperation with ESA, to launch the first MetOp Second Generation satellite in 2022."

Related Links

MetOp at ESA

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Countdown to MetOp-C

Paris (ESA) 01 Nov 2018

Teams from ESA's European Space Operations Center in Germany have been preparing for several months to launch MetOp-C, the latest in the current series of meteorological satellites, which provides high quality data for weather forecasting and climate monitoring in polar orbit.

As a collaborative venture between ESA and Eumetsat, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, ESA is responsible for the construction of the satellites and their placement in … read more