The European Space Agency released the first pictures from MTG-I2, the third satellite in the Meteosat Third Generation fleet, on Nov. 6. The animation shows weather moving across Europe and Africa over a stretch of 45 hours that began on Nov. 3, taken with the satellite’s Flexible Combined Imager.
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When that camera is in full service, it will scan Europe and North Africa every 2.5 minutes. The faster cycle is not available yet, because the satellite still has months of calibration and validation ahead, and ESA expects operational service to begin in the second quarter of 2027. Until then, the pictures are test products meant to show that the camera works.
First images from the Flexible Combined Imager
ESA’s first-images article describes the imager running in a rapid scan mode over Europe and North Africa, with data every 2.5 minutes once the system is fully operational. Meteorologists can use that cadence to follow fast-developing weather systems, and Satellite Today notes it is quicker than earlier satellites managed.
A separate ESA feature on the unpacking of the imager in French Guiana gives the same cycle as 150 seconds and says the rapid-scan service comes into effect once commissioning of the satellite and its ground segment finishes in 2027. ESA’s account of the first images gives the start of operational service as the second quarter of 2027.
ESA project manager James Champion laid out the early steps after launch: deploying the propulsion and solar array systems, activating attitude control, then a sequence of perigee-raising maneuvers expected to take about two weeks. The satellite weighs about 3,800 kilograms, and the program behind it took more than 15 years to build.
Launch on Ariane 6 and the 9.5 degrees East slot
MTG-I2 lifted off from French Guiana on Aug. 27 aboard an Ariane 6 from French Guiana, flight VA270, and reached geostationary orbit about 36,000 kilometers up. According to ESA’s launch announcement, it was the ninth Ariane 6 flight and the first to a geostationary transfer orbit. The same announcement says it completes a three-satellite system that follows the first MTG imager of 2022 and the MTG sounder of 2025.
The satellite will sit at 9.5 degrees East, while the first imager stays at zero degrees longitude, per the pre-launch feature. ESA developed the mission, Thales Alenia Space leads the industrial team with OHB System and Leonardo as main partners, and EUMETSAT operates the satellites. Satellite Today adds that Teledyne Space Imaging supplied the CIS111 detector inside the Flexible Combined Imager, and that the imager’s dedicated fire channels are meant to spot and characterize active fires across Europe and Africa, a use that benefits from frequent repeat looks.
Launch took place at 17:11 local time in French Guiana, 22:11 in Central Europe, and the satellite separated from the rocket 36 minutes into the flight according to Satellite Today. The Malindi ground station established contact after separation, and Eumetsat confirmed soon afterward that the solar panels had deployed. Satellite Today also lists the other two members of the system as Meteosat-12, launched in 2022, and MTG-S1, launched in July 2025, with the new satellite arriving as the third.
The fleet replaces an older one. ESA says the four Meteosat Second Generation satellites went up between 2002 and 2015, and the new generation continues their services with finer instruments. The mission page adds that a second family of MTG satellites is set to launch from 2033 so that coverage extends beyond 2040, and that each satellite is built for roughly two decades in orbit.
Lightning detection and the weather outlook
The imager is not the only instrument aboard, and the others widen what forecasters get beyond cloud pictures. The Lightning Imager detects individual lightning events by day and night, and ESA says it supports nowcasting of conditions a few hours ahead. Combined with the sounder’s data, the three satellites are meant to give three-dimensional views of lightning, winds, clouds and gases such as greenhouse gases and air pollutants.
Simonetta Cheli, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, said the satellite brings advanced technology that will improve climate monitoring and weather forecasts over Europe. EUMETSAT Director General Phil Evans told Satellite Today that MTG-I2 will enable much more frequent observations over Europe, giving forecasters a more continuous view of fast-changing weather. The same report calls MTG-I2 the satellite that completes the Meteosat Third Generation system, supplying weather information for Europe and Africa and refreshing imagery faster than earlier craft, so forecasters can spot hazardous developments sooner.
Satellite Today’s report gives no cost for the satellite or its launch, and the 2.5-minute scanning still depends on the commissioning work ahead. ESA’s mission page says the full system will use four imagers and two sounders, designed for about 20 years of operations, with a second family of satellites scheduled to launch from 2033.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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