MTG-I2 weather satellite set for Ariane 6 launch

The Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I2) satellite is scheduled for launch on an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. This mission completes the first family of MTG satellites, designed to provide highly detailed weather forecasting data for Europe and northern Africa.

The MTG-I2 carries two primary instruments: a Lightning Imager, which provides continuous lightning monitoring, and a Flexible Combined Imager. The latter is capable of scanning the entire Earth from its geostationary position in 10 minutes, while providing scans of Europe and North Africa every 2.5 minutes to assist in the nowcasting of severe weather events.

This launch marks the ninth mission for the Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket and represents its first mission to a geostationary transfer orbit, making it the farthest the rocket has traveled to date.