Opening MTG-I1 container in the cleanroom

After a two-week voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the first Meteosat Third Generation satellite, MTG-I1, is safe and sound in one of spaceport’s cleanrooms in Kourou. The photograph shows the satellite in its protective transport container. Satellite engineers will be readying it for liftoff on an Ariane 5 rocket in December. Once in geostationary orbit, this new satellite, which carries two new extremely sensitive instruments, promises to further bolster Europe's leadership in weather forecasting.