Metop-B successfully launched
At 18:28 CEST (22:28 Baikonur time), Metop-B was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz 2.1a rocket.
20 June 2023
17 September 2012
Metop-B’s role is to ensure continuity of observations from polar orbit which are vital to Numerical Weather Prediction– the basis of modern weather forecasting - as well as climate and environmental monitoring . This service is currently provided by the first satellite in the series, Metop-A (launched 19 October 2006), which has exceeded its nominal lifetime.
Alain Ratier, EUMETSAT’s Director-General, said, “Metop data significantly improve weather forecasts up to 10 days ahead. Through these forecasts, they help protect life and property, and also benefit the weather-sensitive sectors of our economy, especially energy, transportation, construction, agriculture and tourism”.
The value of Metop data for weather forecasting is illustrated by recent studies of the impact of various data sources (in situ, airborne and space-based) on the performance of 24-hour forecasts, in which Metop-A accounts for the highest level of contribution at 25%. Focusing on the contribution of data from individual satellites, Metop-A’s contribution is nearly 40%, which is more than double the contribution of a polar orbiting satellite of the previous generation.
The polar orbiting Metop satellites together with the geostationary Meteosats form the two pillars of Europe’s system of operational meteorological satellites.
The EUMETSAT Director-General congratulated the launch service provider, Starsem, and the Roscosmos teams at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the excellent launch service. He also thanked all the teams who prepared the satellite and ground systems for launch, from EUMETSAT, ESA, CNES, NOAA and the European industrial consortium led by EADS Astrium.
"Metop data significantly improve weather forecasts up to 10 days ahead"
Alain Ratier
Preparing Metop-B for operational service
Once EUMETSAT has taken control of the satellite on 20 September, work on the in-orbit verification of the satellite begins immediately, lasting six weeks. During this period, the direct broadcast transmission service commences, already allowing local users to receive data from certain instruments as it becomes available. The calibration and validation of products delivered by each instrument processing chain starts in parallel, with the final Level-1 product expected to be available 28 weeks after the launch. Following the operational availability of all Level-1 products, Metop-B will become the prime operational satellite for supporting near-real-time services and the Antarctic Data Acquisition shall be swapped from Metop-A to Metop-B. Routine operations are expected to begin around nine months after launch.
Cooperation with the U.S.
Once Metop-B is operational, it will be the second European satellite in the Initial Joint Polar System (IJPS) signed in 1998 and shared by Europe and the USA. This cooperation between EUMETSAT and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) comprises two polar-orbiting satellite systems and their respective ground segments delivering continuous global observations for meteorological applications and climate monitoring.
