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As preparations to launch Europe\u2019s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1, satellite continue on track, the team at Europe\u2019s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, has bid a heartfelt farewell to this precious satellite as it was sealed from view within the Ariane 6 rocket\u2019s fairing.<\/p>\n
This all-new weather satellite, which hosts the first Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument, is set to take to the skies on 13 August at 02:37 CEST (12 August 21:37 Kourou time).<\/p>\n
Since its arrival at the spaceport in mid-June, MetOp-SG-A1 has been undergoing all that it takes to get it ready for liftoff. This includes a huge number of careful checks to ensure all its components are in good working order, the hazardous task of loading the satellite with almost 800 kg of highly volatile fuel, and joining the satellite to the launch adapter.<\/p>\n
And now, the satellite has been sealed inside the rocket fairing \u2013 a key milestone that marks the end of hands-on work for the team, and always an emotional moment.<\/p>\n
ESA\u2019s MetOp-SG Project Manager, Marc Loiselet, said, \u201cI’ve been working on this mission since 2012 and managed the development and build of this satellite over the past two years, so this moment is especially poignant. None of us will actually see the satellite \u2013 the fairing will not be opened until three minutes 30 seconds after liftoff as MetOp-SG is taken into orbit around Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\tMetOp Second Generation-A satellite over Earth
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Nick Goody, ESA’s MetOp-SG-A1 Launch Campaign Manager, added, \u201cFrom this point on we monitor the satellite\u2019s environment inside the protective fairing and perform checks to ensure we can configure and monitor the satellite on launch day. The excitement for launch is building day by day now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0MetOp-SG-A1 is the first in a series of three successive pairs of satellites. It will be followed by its partner satellite, MetOp-SG-B1, next year.<\/p>\n
The mission as a whole not only ensures the continued delivery of global observations from polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate analysis for more than 20 years, but also offers enhanced accuracy and resolution compared to the original MetOp mission \u2013 along with new measurement capabilities to expand its scientific reach.<\/p>\n
Each MetOp-SG pair is made up of an A-type and a B-type satellite that carry a different, but complementary, suite of remarkable instruments. The package totals ten different instruments across both satellites, some of which are based on the sound heritage of the first MetOp series, and some of which are completely new.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJoining MetOp-SG-A1 satellite to launch adapter<\/a><\/p>\n The A-type satellites, the first of which is the soon-to-launch MetOp-SG-A1, carry six instruments: a next-generation infrared atmospheric sounder, a microwave sounder, a multispectral imaging radiometer, a novel multiviewing, multichannel, multipolarisation imager, a radio occultation sounder (which is also embarked on the MetOp-SG-B satellites), and the European Commission\u2019s Copernicus Sentinel-5 spectrometer.<\/p>\n Building on the success of the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite, the new Copernicus Sentinel-5 introduces an advanced imaging spectrometer. The first of these cutting-edge instruments, Sentinel-5A, is integrated into MetOp-SG-A1, and will work in synergy with other onboard instruments.<\/p>\n