14 DAY TRIAL // About 6 years after the launch of the MetOp-A spacecraft, the European Space Agency (ESA) is getting ready to launch the second satellite in its newest weather forecasting and climate monitoring series.
Dubbed MetOp-B, the weather satellite was recently delivered to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, ahead of its May 23 launch date. The spacecraft is currently undergoing a delicate process of assembling and testing, before it can receive the go-ahead for flight.
The MetOp series will include a total of three satellites, and its primary function is to ensure that ESA retains continuous observation capabilities until 2020. The project is a joint effort between the space agency and Eumetsat.
When MetOp-A launched in 2006, it represented a significant breakthrough for Europe, since it was the first vehicle developed by ESA that orbited the planet from pole to pole. According to officials, it is now time for it to receive some support, personified in this instance by MetOp-B.
The latter will be flown to orbit aboard a Soyuz delivery system with a Fregat upper stage, which is provided by the Russian Federal Space Agency (ESA). Once the second spacecraft is in space, the two satellites will begin working together.
This will provide meteorologists and climate experts with a massive amount of data to process, and eventually include in weather models, or in simulations that seek to understand global warming.
Some of the variables that MetOp spacecraft are designed to manage include temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and measurements of the level of ozone and other gases in the atmosphere.
“We are extremely pleased to see MetOp-B arrive safely at the launch facilities. The next weeks are extremely important to make sure this advanced satellite is in perfect condition for launch,” ESA MetOp project manager, Luciano Di Napoli, explains.
“MetOp-B arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on [March 6] after being transported from Toulouse, France on an Antonov cargo aircraft. Two separate flights carried the satellite’s solar array and the supporting equipment that is being used to prepare the satellite for launch,” an ESA statement says.
“Now that the satellite and support equipment has been unpacked and inspected to make sure that it wasn’t damaged in transit, it will spend the next weeks being thoroughly tested before being encapsulated in the rocket fairing,” the press release concludes.