MetOp-SG-B1, the second-generation European weather satellite, has been taken from its transport container and moved into a cleanroom at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. After arriving by ship, it spent time in storage in a carefully controlled environment: dry, filled with nitrogen to protect its components, and kept at 22°C. The satellite’s journey began in Bordeaux on 6 October aboard Canopée, a sail-assisted vessel designed to reduce fuel use and carbon emissions, and it reached Kourou on 16 October. After more than 12 years of development, engineers are now preparing to switch it on and conduct final launch checks.
The satellite is scheduled to launch on an Ariane 6 toward the end of 2026 and join MetOp-SG-A1, which reached orbit in August 2025. Their complementary instruments will measure atmospheric and environmental conditions - including temperature, precipitation, clouds and winds - to support weather forecasting and climate research. The wider MetOp-SG programme is designed to sustain these observations for more than 20 years through three successive pairs of satellites. In the weeks before launch, the team will activate and test B1, fuel it, enclose it within the rocket fairing and move it to the launch pad.
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