Meteosat Third Generation

MTG's planned launch dates

Note: The launch date for MTG-I3, MTG-S2 and MTG-I4 depends of the status of the previously launched satellites.

• MTG will see the launch of six new geostationary satellites from 2022 onwards. The satellite series will be based on 3-axis platforms and comprise: four Imaging Satellites (MTG-I) (20 years of operational services expected) and two Sounding Satellites (MTG-S) (15.5 years of operational services expected).
• The full operational configuration will consist of two MTG-I satellites operating in tandem, one scanning Europe and Africa every 10 minutes, and the other scanning only Europe every 2.5 minutes, and one MTG-S satellite.
• Meteosat Third Generation aims to secure continuity and to increase the capabilities of the Meteosat satellites in response to requirements of the future forecast/nowcast systems.
• MTG operations will commence following the successful commissioning of the first imaging satellite, MTG-I1 (expected to be one year after launch). The full operational capacity will only be achieved once the first sounder and the second imaging satellite have been commissioned. During early operations, the heritage services provided by the current MSG satellites will be operated in parallel to the new MTG services.
• Novelty instruments in the GEO orbit are Infrared Sounder, Lightning Imager and Ultraviolet Visible Near-infrared (UVN) Spectrometer.
• MTG will carry a small communications payload (GEOSAR) to relay distress signals of 406 MHz beacons to a central reception station in Europe, which passes the signals on for quick organisation of rescue activities. The geostationary relay allows a continuous monitoring of the earth disc and immediate alerting.
• Three in-orbit satellites deliver the full mission capacity, providing 0 degree Full Disc Service, Rapid Scanning Service (RSS) and Sounding services.
• MTG imaging novelties are introduced through advanced temporal resolution (10 min v 20 min for MSG Full Disc, 2.5 min v 5 min for MSG in RSS), spatial resolution (500 m/1 km v 1 km/3 km for MSG) and radiometric and spectral resolution (16 channels v 12 channels for MSG).
• High timelines for continuous observations of total lightning in geostationary field of view will be provided by LI instrument.
• The infrared and UVN sounding missions aim to deliver new capabilities for the real-time monitoring of atmospheric profiles, air quality (e.g. tropospheric ozone and carbon monoxide) and dispersion of atmospheric pollution.
• Provision for a continued Data Collection Service and GEO Search And Rescue (GEOSAR) Relay Service.
• User involvement in the continuing development of the MTG system continues through the EUMETSAT delegate bodies and dedicated Mission Advisory Groups (MAG).
• Prioritised high level user-driven needs taken as inputs for the MTG joint EUMETSAT/ESA definition phase, leading to the establishment of the MTG End-User Requirements Document (EURD).
• European consortium led by Thales Alenia Space of France currently building the MTG spacecraft.
• EUMETSAT is the design authority for the associated ground segment. It will integrate into the existing multi-mission ground network infrastructure.