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European Space Agency

Press Release

25 years of European satellite meteorology -
         Happy Birthday, Meteosat!
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22 November 2002

Since the first one soared into space on 23 November 1977, the
Meteosat series of meteorological satellites have been Europe's
watchful eyes on the weather. 

The initial image from Meteosat a few weeks after the launch marked
the historic first in an uninterrupted flow of information that
provided European weather services with an unprecedented, and now
indispensable, resource for more accurate forecasts.

The transmission of that image on 9 December 1977 represented another
historic milestone for the European Space Agency (ESA), formed as
such only two years earlier - its first image of the Earth.


Tillykke med fodselsdagen! Joyeux Anniversaire! 
La breithe mhaith agat! Gratulerer med dagen!
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Meteosat-1 was the first of a proud line of six subsequent Meteosat
satellites and the current follow-on Meteosat Second Generation (MSG)
spacecraft. The heritage passed down by Meteosat-1 also includes ESA's 
global Earth observation programme, including the ERS pair of Earth 
resource-monitoring satellites and, more recently, the Envisat
satellite. 

The name may not be all that familiar to the man or woman on the
street, but Meteosat has been an integral part of European life for
the past 25 years.

More than 300 million people across the continent are familiar with
the colourful images from Europe's space sentinels seen every day in
weather forecasts on television and in newspapers. 
 
 
Hartelijk gefeliciteerd! Feliz Aniversario! 
Grattis pa fodelsedagen! Feliz Cumpleanos!
-------------------------------------------

The first three Meteosats were solely funded and developed by ESA, and 
the Agency has continued to be responsible for the development of
Meteosat hardware to the present day. Handling of day-to-day
operations was handed over to the European Organisation of
Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat) on 1 December 1995.

Europeans have not been the only people to benefit. Meteosat
information has been used to improve weather forecasts over the Middle 
East and the entire continent of Africa, and the satellites have also 
played a vital role in contributing to the global network of weather 
satellites that continuously monitors the globe from geostationary 
orbit, where they hover above the same spot on the equator over the 
Gulf of Guinea.
 

Bonne fete! Hyvaa syntymapaivaa! 
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Buon Compleanno!
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After 25 years of impressive service, the Meteosat satellites are
giving way to a more advanced series of European meteorological
spacecraft - Meteosat Second Generation (MSG). These satellites, the
first of which was launched on 29 August 2002, will take images at
more wavelengths and at shorter intervals than their parents. The
advanced capabilities of MSG satellites make them particularly
suitable for short-term forecasting of sudden troublesome weather
phenomena, such as snow, thunderstorms and fog. Using MSG data,
weather bulletins will be able to advise us with considerable accuracy 
about whether to take an umbrella or avoid a particular stretch of 
road because bad weather is expected later in the day!

MSG is a joint project between ESA and Eumetsat, the organisation set
up in 1986 to establish, maintain and operate a European system of
meteorological satellites. Three satellites are planned at present and 
a ground segment. ESA is responsible for designing and developing the 
first satellite, and for procuring the other two on behalf of
Eumetsat. Eumetsat is responsible for defining the payload based on
user needs, procuring the ground segment and launchers, and operating
the system.

While MSG represents the future for European weather forecasting, the
25th anniversary of the first Meteosat launch offers the perfect
occasion to reflect on the many benefits to Europeans and others
provided by the Meteosat system over the past two-and-a-half decades. 

Happy Birthday, Meteosat!

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