This follows the successful launch of the satellite on 15 July aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, and the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) carried out by ESA’s European Space Operations Centre, ESOC, on EUMETSAT’s behalf.
During the last 11 days, the satellite was moved into geostationary orbit, the various components which make up the satellite’s platform were activated and their functionality checked. This included a number of critical manoeuvres like the firing of the apogee motors, the change of spacecraft orientation and the unlocking of the SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager) scan mirror.
Following handover, EUMETSAT will now begin commissioning the satellite and its sensors. Commissioning consists of a two-month phase of satellite check-out and assessment, followed by four months for imaging and product testing, including calibration and validation. After commissioning, MSG-4 will be stored in orbit.
The release of the first image generated by the SEVIRI imager on board MSG-4 in some eight days will be an important milestone.
About EUMETSAT
The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites is an intergovernmental organisation based in Darmstadt, Germany, currently with 30 Member States (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, Turkey and the United Kingdom) and one Cooperating State (Serbia).
EUMETSAT operates the geostationary satellites Meteosat-8, -9 and -10 over Europe and Africa, and Meteosat-7 over the Indian Ocean.
EUMETSAT also operates two Metop polar-orbiting satellites as part of the Initial Joint Polar System (IJPS) shared with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
EUMETSAT is also a partner in the Jason ocean altimetry missions exploited jointly with NOAA, NASA and CNES.
The data and products from EUMETSAT’s satellites are vital to weather forecasting and make a significant contribution to the monitoring of environment and the global climate.
From 2016 onwards, EUMETSAT will exploit the Copernicus Sentinel-3 marine mission, in cooperation with ESA and on behalf of the EU, and deliver data services to the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service.
