EUMETSAT takes steps to extend Meteosat and EPS operations

These decisions reflect the substantial impact of observations from Meteosat and Metop satellites on weather forecasts at all ranges and take into account the latest assessment of the performances and foreseen lifetime of all satellites in orbit and the forthcoming launch of the last Metop satellite (Metop-C) planned in the autumn 2018.

The Council also approved two ground segment contracts for the next generation Meteosat Third Generation and Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 systems currently under development.

The IDPF-S (Instrument Data Processing Facility-Sounding) will process data from the IRS Infrared sounder and the Copernicus UVN/Sentinel-4 ultraviolet and near infrared sounder embarked on the Meteosat Third Generation sounding (MTG-S) satellites. The first of these satellites, MTG-S1, will be launched in 2023, two years after the first MTG imaging satellite, MTG-I1.

The Payload Data Acquisition and Processing (PDAP) component of the Jason-CS ground segment will acquire data from the Copernicus Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 satellite and perform end-to-end processing. The development of the PDAP is funded by the EUMETSAT Jason-CS programme, the organisation’s contribution to the cooperative development of Copernicus Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 mission, involving also ESA, NASA, NOAA and the European Union through its Copernicus programme. The first Jason-CS/Sentinel-6 satellite is planned for launch at the end of 2020.