Share
Meteosat satellites monitor the Earth using both visible and infrared imaging. The Europeans now have two MetOp series polar-orbiting satellites in space: MetOp-A and MetOp-B. The third and final first-generation MetOp satellite is expected to be launched in autumn 2018. The MetOp satellites developed and produced by Airbus for ESA and the European meteorological organisation EUMETSAT orbit the Earth at an altitude of only 830 kilometers, requiring some 100 minutes to complete one Earth orbit. These satellites orbit our planet 14 times a day in a sun-synchronous orbit and, because their orbits are 42 times closer to Earth than the geostationary satellites, the observation data that MetOp satellites provide is much more detailed and offers access to a wealth of ground, atmosphere and ocean parameters that are recorded by microwave instruments that cannot be applied by satellites located in more distant geostationary orbits.
www.airbusdefenceandspace.com
