Meteosat Second Generation
The Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) consists of a series of four geostationary meteorological satellites, along with ground-based infrastructure, that will operate consecutively until 2020. The MSG satellites carry an impressive pair of instruments - the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI), which has the capacity to observe the Earth in 12 spectral channels and provide image data which is core to operational forecasting needs, and the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument supporting climate studies.
For almost 30 years ESA has been building Europe's orbital weather satellites: the Meteosat series of geostationary spacecraft, the first of which was launched in 1977. The success of the early Meteosats led to the creation of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) in 1986.
ESA was responsible for designing and developing the first MSG satellite, and for procuring the other three on behalf of EUMETSAT. Meanwhile EUMETSAT has responsibility for defining the payload based on user needs, procuring the ground segment and launchers, and operating the system.
With the first in the next generation of Meteosat satellites due to be launched in a couple of years, an important milestone has been passed, further paving the way for better weather forecasts – something on which we all rely.
22 November 2017
ESA's first Earth observation satellite was launched on 23 November 1977. When the first Meteosat satellite took its place in the sky, it completed coverage of the whole globe from geostationary orbit and laid the foundations for European and world cooperation in meteorology that continues today.
Facts and Figures