MTG-I pushed into the thermal vacuum chamber

The Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite being pushed into the thermal vacuum chamber for testing at Thales Alenia Space’s facilities in Cannes, France, in October 2021. These tests simulate the thermal conditions that the satellite will experience in orbit above Earth and demonstrate that the satellite will function correctly in the harsh environment of space.

The MTG mission comprises two types of satellite: the Imaging satellite (MTG-I) and the Sounding satellite (MTG-S). Both use a common three-axis stabilised platform, but carry very different instruments. The MTG-I satellite, seen here, accommodates a Flexible Combined Imager instrument and a Lightning Imager. The MTG-S accommodates the Infrared Sounder (IRS) instrument and Copernicus Sentinel-4 unit.

To meet more than the 20-year operational life of the mission, the full MTG system comprises six satellites, four MTG-I and two MTG-S.

The first MTG-I is scheduled to launch at the end of 2022.