The Meteosat Third Generation Imager2 is scheduled to launch from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on August 27, marking the first flight to geostationary transfer orbit for the Ariane 6 rocket. According to ESA and ArianeGroup, this ninth flight will carry the weather satellite farther than the rocket's previous missions, employing a configuration with two solid boosters.
ArianeGroup confirmed on August 4 that the launch window for the Ariane 6 mission VA270 is set for August 27 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. The flight window is scheduled between 20:10 and 22:40 UTC, which corresponds to late evening in Paris and Berlin. The company noted that VA270 represents the fourth launch of the year for the Ariane 6 rocket and its first mission targeting a geostationary transfer orbit.[2]
The rocket will fly in a configuration utilizing two P120C solid boosters for this ninth overall flight, taking it on its farthest journey yet. The primary payload, the Meteosat Third Generation Imager2 (MTG-I2), completes the first family of Meteosat Third Generation satellites. ESA detailed that the satellite is designed to return high-resolution images of the atmosphere over Europe and northern Africa every 2.5 minutes.[1], [2]
The advanced weather imager is built to operate for at least 8.5 years in orbit. Thales Alenia Space led the manufacturing of the satellite, with OHB System and Leonardo serving as the main partners in the project. Following the successful launch and the subsequent commissioning phase in space, Eumetsat will take over the satellite's routine operations and the distribution of its meteorological data.[1]
