14 DAY TRIAL // Officials at the European Space Agency (ESA) announce that the organization has just handed over control of the third Meteosat Second Generation satellite (MSG-3) to the European Organization for Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).
The latter will operate the spacecraft for the entire European Union. The vehicle is currently perched on a geostationary orbit, some 36,000 kilometers (22,370 miles) above the surface of the planet.
“This is the third MSG we have launched, so you could say that we are familiar with the behavior of the spacecraft,” explains the MSG-3 spacecraft Operations Manager, Chris Watson. He adds that it took 10 days to complete the critical Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP).
MSG-3 launched to space aboard an Ariane 5 delivery system, from the Kourou Spaceport, in French Guiana, South America. The rocket behaved admirably and injected the spacecraft into its proper transfer orbit without problems.