The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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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.