MetOp-SG-B1 weather satellite reaches Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana
Second MetOp-SG weather satellite arrived in French Guiana after a 10-day Atlantic crossing and is set for an Ariane 6 launch expected by the end of the year.
The story in focus
The MetOp-SG-B1 weather satellite has arrived at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana after a 10-day voyage from Bordeaux. It will be stored briefly before launch preparations begin for an Ariane 6 flight expected at the end of the year.
- MetOp-SG-B1 crossed the Atlantic from Bordeaux aboard the ship Canopée, arriving 16 October.
- The satellite is expected to launch on an Ariane 6 rocket at the end of the year.
- MetOp-SG-B1 carries five instruments, including a scatterometer and a microwave imager.
Arrival and handling
ESA reports that the MetOp-SG-B1 satellite reached Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana following a 10-day Atlantic crossing from Bordeaux in France. The vessel Canopée arrived at Pariacabo harbour, and the satellite container was offloaded on 17 October before being taken to the spaceport and placed in storage.
The satellite will remain in storage for roughly two weeks before launch preparations start. ESA's launch campaign manager described the harbour arrival as a milestone on the road to launch and noted that the vessel combines wind power with conventional fuel; the shipment included the satellite container and six containers of launch-preparation equipment, 75 tonnes in total.
Mission and instruments
MetOp-SG is designed as pairs of complementary satellites in polar orbit. Its first satellite, MetOp-SG-A1, launched in August 2025. Together the two satellites carry 11 instruments providing high-resolution measurements of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds and other atmospheric and environmental variables.
The B-type satellites carry five instruments: a scatterometer for ocean-surface wind vectors and soil moisture, a radio occultation sounder for temperature and humidity profiles and ionosphere information, a microwave imager for precipitation and sea-ice extent, an ice cloud imager for cloud-ice water, and the Argos-4 data collection system. ESA says three successive pairs are planned to supply data for at least two decades.
Next milestone
The satellite underwent final testing and was packed at Airbus facilities in Toulouse before transport by lorry to Bordeaux. Launch aboard an Ariane 6 rocket is expected at the end of the year, according to ESA.
What instruments does the MetOp-SG-B1 satellite carry?
ESA lists five: a scatterometer, a radio occultation sounder, a microwave imager, an ice cloud imager and the Argos-4 advanced data collection system, which gathers data from surface, buoy, ship, balloon and airborne platforms.
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