Launched in 2006, MetOp-A was the first in the series of three
polar-orbiting satellites dedicated to operational meteorology from
polar orbit, marking a new era in global weather prediction and climate
monitoring. The second satellite, MetOp-B, was launched from Baikonur on
17 September 2012.
Credits: ESA/AOES Medialab
ESA hands over control of the Metop-B weather satellite to EUMETSAT
21 September 2012
PR
30 2012 – Yesterday, at 18:30 local time EUMETSAT took control of
Metop-B operations, following the three-day Launch and Early Orbit Phase
(LEOP) conducted by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) of the
European Space Agency (ESA). The handover follows the launch of Metop-B
on 17 September.
Since Monday evening, teams at ESA’s European
Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, have been busy day and
night during the Launch and Early Orbit Phase. As planned, they checked
all of Metop-B’s systems and ensured that its solar array was deployed
and oriented towards the Sun to provide crucial power to run the
satellite and its 11 scientific instruments.
On Day One, the ESA Flight Operations teams checked the power,
temperatures, software, telecommunication links and activated a number
of systems. On Day Two, they deployed five payload instrument antennas.
On Day Three, with Metop-B in a near-circular orbit at around 800 km
altitude and 99 degrees inclination, the teams conducted one thruster
burn to fine tune the orbit and get into ‘phase’ with the orbit of
Metop-A - and to prepare for handover to EUMETSAT on Thursday.
After the handover, work began immediately on the in-orbit verification
of Metop-B, for a six-week period, during which all Metop-B’s 11
instruments will be switched on in sequence.
The European instruments on board Metop-B will be activated in the following order:
- GOME-2 ultraviolet spectrometer for ozone monitoring five days after launch
- ASCAT advanced scatterometer one week after launch
- GRAS instrument for atmospheric sounding using radio-occultation of
signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) one week
after launch
- MHS microwave humidity sounder (three and a half weeks after launch
- IASI infrared atmospheric sounder six weeks after launch
Altogether, these instruments will deliver measurements of vertical
profile of temperature, humidity and trace gases in the atmosphere, the
wind field at the surface of the ocean, and soil moisture.
The Metop-B in-orbit check out activities will use the comprehensive
EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) ground segment. They will be coordinated by
the EUMETSAT Control Centre located at EUMETSAT’s headquarters in
Darmstadt, Germany, with the support of ESA, the French space agency
CNES, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and
industry.
Further information
ESA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
All rights reserved by EUMETSAT
HI-RES JPEG (Size: 
(From left) Anne Taube, International Relations Assistant at Eumetsat,
Hans-Peter Lüttenberg, Head of DLR’s Earth Observation Department,
Silvia Castaner, Head of Legal Affairs at Eumetsat, Christiane Carretta,
CNES delegate, Alain Ratier, Director-General of Eumetsat, Volker
Liebig, Director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes, Mikael
Rattenborg, Eumetsat’s Director of Operations, Simonetta Cheli, Head of
Coordination Office for ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes,
Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Chairman of Excutive Board at DLR. 
