On 25 February 2011 and following the approval of Belgium, all Member States of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) committed to the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) programme.
Consisting of six satellites, MTG will secure Meteosat weather and climate data for Europe for the next 30 years. Operating from geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, MTG will continue the uninterrupted collection of data by Meteosat satellites that began in 1977.
Due to advances in technology, MTG will also provide an enhanced service compared to the current Meteosat Second Generation (MSG), bringing significant improvements to the service already provided with an improved imagery mission and introducing the new sounding and lightning missions from geostationary orbit. MTG will operate over a longer period of time and at a slightly lower cost per year of in-orbit lifetime than Meteosat Second Generation (MSG), which it will start replacing in 2018.
Through its mission, MTG will introduce major improvements in Numerical Weather Prediction and Nowcasting of severe weather situations. Key applications will include more timely forecasting of severe thunderstorms which cause heavy precipitation and flooding, improved monitoring of aerosols and volcanic dust clouds, as well as air quality monitoring.
Published by: EUMETSAT on February 25, 2011
Full article: http://www.eumetsat.int/Home/Main/News/Press_Releases/804158
