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With liftoff set for 13 December 2022 at 21:30 CET, the Ariane 5 rocket carrying the first Meteosat Third Generation Imager, MTG-I1, satellite is at the launch pad at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Once in geostationary orbit, 36,000 km above the equator, this new satellite is set to herald a new era for meteorology.
MTG-I1 has been at the launch site since mid-October being carefully readied for liftoff. Over the weekend, the all-important technical ‘launch readiness review’ gave the green light for liftoff and the Ariane 5 rocket subsequently rolled out to the launch pad.