The first of the second generation of Meteosat satellites ready for lift-off

Follow the launch from ESA and Arianespace establishments

About 25 years after the first Meteosat weather satellite was lofted, the
first of a new generation (MSG-1) is to be launched by an Ariane 5
launcher from Europe’s Space Port in Kourou during the night of 27/28
August, at 19:30 hrs Kourou time (00:30 CEST).

With sophisticated new instruments on board, MSG-1 will change the way we
observe the weather. The European Space Agency (ESA) is the development
and co-financing agency for this first satellite in the MSG series and
will procure the recurrent satellites on behalf of EUMETSAT. The MSG-1
satellite was built by Alcatel Space for EUMETSAT, under ESA project
management.

Media representatives in Europe can follow the video transmission of the
launch at a joint ESA/EUMETSAT event at ESA/Darmstadt (ESOC) in Germany,
which will be acting as the main European press centre, ESA/Noordwijk
(ESTEC) in the Netherlands, ESA/Frascati (ESRIN) in Italy, and also at the
Arianespace site at Evry in France.

Media representatives wishing to attend are requested to complete the
attached reply form and fax it to the Communication Office at the
establishment of their choice.

The ESA TV Service will provide highlights of the launch via satellite
feeds. Details of the transmission schedule for the various launch
highlights can be found on http://television.esa.int

The launch can be followed live on the internet at
http://www.esa.int/meteosat2g.

MSG LAUNCH ACCREDITATION FORM- Launch on 27/28 August 2002

First name: _______________ Surname : ______________________
Media : ____________________________________________________
Address : __________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Tel : _________________________ Fax : ______________________
Mobile : ______________________ e-mail : ___________________

I will be attending the MSG-1 launch event at the following site:

( )Germany:
Location: ESA/ESOC – Joint event with EUMETSAT
Address: Robert-Bosch Strasse 5, Darmstadt, Germany
Opening hours: 22:00 – 02:00
Contact point: Jocelyne Landeau-Constantin
Tel: + 49 6151 90 2696/2459
Fax: + 49 6151 90 2961
Info line: +49 – 6151 – 90 26 09

( ) The Netherlands
Location : Space Expo for ESA/ESTEC
Address: Keplerlaan 3, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Opening hours: 22:30 – 02:00 hrs
Contact point: Heidi Graf
Tel:+31 71 565 3006 during office hours
Tel: +31 71 36 46 446 during launch night (Space Expo)
Fax: +31 71 565 5728
Info line: +33. 71 565 8016

( ) Italy
Location: ESA/ESRIN
Address: Via G. Galilei, Frascati (Rome), Italy
Opening hours: 23:30 – 01:00 hrs
Contact point: Simonetta Cheli
Tel. +39 06 94180350
Fax +39 06 94180352

( ) Spain
Location : ESA/VILSPA Satellite Station
Address : Villafranca del Castillo, Madrid
Opening hours : 23:20 – 01:00 hrs
Contact point : Valeriano Claros
Tel: +34.91.813.1111
Fax: +34.91.813.1212

( ) France
Location: Arianespace
Address: Boulevard de l’Europe, 91006 Evry
Opening hours : 23:45 to launch plus one hour
Contact point : Odile Laborie
Tel:+33.(0)1.60.87.60.13
Mobile: +33.(0)6.75.09.71.65
Fax:+33.(0)1.60.87.63.04
Email: o.laborie@arianespace.fr

Please complete the form and fax it to the site of your choice.