Next-generation European weather satellite MetOp-SG A1 launched
NewsAugust 14, 2025
KOUROU, French Guiana. The first satellite in Europe’s MetOp Second Generation (MetOp-SG) program, MetOp-SG A1, launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, the European Space Agency announced in a statement.
Built by Airbus for the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), MetOp-SG A1 has established communications and begun its commissioning phase, the statement reads. The A1 satellite is equipped with advanced atmospheric sounding and imaging instruments, including the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer – Next Generation (IASI-NG), METimage imager, a microwave sounder, a radio occultation sounder, and the Multi-viewing, Multi-channel, Multi-polarisation Imager for improved aerosol and cloud monitoring. It also carries the Copernicus Sentinel-5 payload for atmospheric composition measurements.
MetOp-SG will consist of six satellites — three “A” series and three “B” series — with complementary instrument packages. The A series focuses on atmospheric sounding and imaging, while the B series will carry microwave imaging and radar instruments. Each satellite has an expected operational lifetime of 7.5 years, ensuring data continuity into the mid-2040s.
The mission is a partnership among EUMETSAT, ESA, the EU Copernicus program, national space agencies, and an industrial consortium led by Airbus.
