On the 13th of August at 02:37 CEST, the MetOp Second Generation A1 satellite (MetOp-SGA1), also carrying the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission, launched aboard an Ariane-62 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. This marks the first deployment in the EUMETSAT Polar System – Second Generation (EPS-SG) programme, a milestone set to deliver more accurate forecasts and earlier warnings to safeguard lives, infrastructure, and economies from extreme weather events. The programme is projected to deliver a return on investment of at least 20 to 1 across Europe.
Now in polar orbit, approximately 800 kilometres above Earth, MetOp-SGA1 is equipped with six advanced instruments that will provide high-resolution, near-real-time data. This information will enhance forecasts from 12 hours to 10 days ahead, supporting meteorologists in issuing early warnings for storms, heatwaves, wildfires, and floods. Beyond weather forecasting, the satellite’s data will help farmers protect crops, support energy grid operators, and improve navigation for aviation and maritime operations.
Phil Evans, EUMETSAT Director-General, said: “Extreme weather has cost Europe hundreds of billions euros and tens of thousands of lives over the past 40 years – storms like Boris, Daniel and Hans, record heatwaves and fierce wildfires are just the latest reminders. The launch of MetOp-SGA1 is a major step forward in giving national weather services in our member states sharper tools to save lives, protect property, and build resilience against the climate crisis. These positive impacts will be felt even beyond that and over the Atlantic, as MetOp-SGA1 is Europe’s first contribution to the Joint Polar System with the United States’ National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This milestone reflects years of teamwork across EUMETSAT, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Union, the French Space Agency (CNES), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Airbus, Thales Alenia Space, and many others. This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we work to ensure the satellite settles into orbit and starts delivering the vital data it was built to provide.”
At the heart of better forecasts
More than 95% of the data used in numerical weather prediction comes from satellites –a share set to grow as MetOp Second Generation satellites enter service. Unlike geostationary spacecraft fixed above the equator, polar-orbiting satellites like MetOp-SGA1 travel north to south as Earth rotates beneath them, delivering global coverage and a rich variety of observations. Over the next two decades, three consecutive pairs of MetOp-SG satellites will loop the planet 14 times daily, with advanced instruments collecting high-resolution data on the atmosphere, oceans, ice sheets, and land surfaces.
The MetOp-SGA1 satellite hosts a total of six atmospheric sounding and imaging instrument missions. The payload includes the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer – New Generation (IASI-NG), METimage (a visual and infrared imager), the Microwave Sounder (MWS), a Radio Occultation sounder, and the Multi-Viewing, Multi-Channel, Multi-Polarisation Imager (3MI) – the latter being an entirely new instrument designed to enhance the monitoring of aerosols and cloud properties. MetOp-SGA1 also carries the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission, which will supply detailed data on atmospheric composition and trace gases that affect air quality, helping health authorities to monitor air pollution.
Christoph Kautz, Director for Space Policy, Earth Observation and Satellite Navigation at the European Commission, said: “The successful launch of Copernicus Sentinel-5 is a testimony to our close cooperation with EUMETSAT and is an outstanding achievement that will strengthen Europe’s capacity to monitor pollution and advance climate science. Thanks to the synergies with EUMETSAT’s meteorological mission, it was decided to embark Sentinel-5 on MetOp-SGA1. This joint approach not only optimises the overall mission costs but also lowers the environmental impact by minimising the number of launches required.’’
Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA, said: “MetOp-SGA1 and Copernicus Sentinel-5 show the power of European collaboration in building long-term missions that help us take the pulse of our planet. This successful launch will ultimately give us an unprecedented view of our atmosphere and climate. The data will allow us to monitor air quality, track greenhouse gases, and observe clouds, trace gases and ozone in more detail than ever. By feeding these insights into models and tools, we can strengthen climate action, improve public health, and deliver benefits for communities across Europe and beyond.”
