As one of the last milestones before liftoff at the end of the year, the first Meteosat Third Generation weather satellite is being fitted with its Lightning Imager.
From geostationary orbit, 36 000 km above Earth’s surface, this state-of-the-art European instrument will continuously monitor lightning over more than 80% of Earth’s disc for early warnings of dangerous storms. Remarkably, it is capable of imaging relatively weak lightning events in full sunlight.
Following on from the first and second generations of Meteosat satellites, the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) mission will deliver essential data for weather forecasting from geostationary orbit for the next two decades. The MTG mission comprises two types of satellite: four MTG-Imagers and two MTG-Sounders.
With the first MTG-I, MTG-I1, scheduled for liftoff at the end of the year, it’s full steam ahead to get this new satellite fit and ready for shipping to the launch site at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Continue reading at European Space Agency
Image via European Space Agency
