EUMETSAT, ESA and the European Commission, together with European partners, are pleased to invite you to celebrate the launches of two innovative weather satellites this summer:
- Meteosat Third Generation – Sounder 1 (MTG-S1), hosting the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission, will be launched no earlier than July 2025;
- Metop – Second Generation A1 (Metop-SG A1) will be launched in August 2025.
The official launch dates are to be confirmed, and more precise information will follow as soon as possible.
These two spacecraft will further existing services, with added frequency and resolution. In addition they will also provide European weather services with completely new data to enable the development of cutting-edge applications and empower citizens, societies and economies to become more resilient against climate changes.
MTG-S1 will be the first operational European sounder satellite in a geostationary orbit. It will observe the atmosphere at hyperspectral resolution using its infrared sounder, which provides temperature and humidity profiles to complement data from satellites such as Meteosat-12. It also carries the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission. As the second satellite in the next-generation Meteosat programme, it will enhance nowcasting and weather forecasting by improving the tracking of rapidly changing weather systems.
The Metop Second Generation A1 satellite will be the first of the next generation of European polar-orbiting weather satellites. It will also host the new Copernicus Sentinel-5 atmospheric monitoring mission. The spacecraft will host a total of six atmospheric sounding and imaging instrument missions that will provide optical, infrared, and microwave observations essential data for weather forecasting, storm prediction, climate monitoring, and a wide range of other services and applications.
Members of the media will be invited to the following events, via dedicated invitations with precise processes to register:
- MTG-S1 and Copernicus Sentinel-4:
- Pre-launch media briefings, online: 24 June 2025
- European launch event, at EUMETSAT in Darmstadt, Germany: no earlier than July 2025
- Metop-SGA1 and Copernicus Sentinel-5:
- Pre-launch media briefings, online: between 28 July and 9 August 2025
- European launch event, at ESA (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, Netherlands: August 2025
- Media visit to the launch site in Kourou, French Guyana: August 2025
Please keep your calendars open for the upcoming invitations!
We hope to see many of you to celebrate with us the launches of these future-focused satellites, as they open up new avenues to keep our societies resilient in the current context of climate change.
About EUMETSAT
EUMETSAT, Europe’s meteorological satellite agency, monitors the weather and climate from space. Based in Darmstadt, Germany, EUMETSAT provides its 30 member states with meteorological imagery and data that are essential for keeping their communities safe and for the benefit of critical sectors of their economies.
EUMETSAT’s 30 member states are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
For more information, see the
EUMETSAT website.
Media Relations EUMETSAT:
Tel. : +49 6151 807 7320
Email:
press@eumetsat.int
www.eumetsat.int