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On August 13th 2025 at 02:37 CEST, the MetOp-SG-A1 satellite – the first of the new Meteorological Operational Second Generation series – will lift off from Kourou, French Guiana, aboard an Ariane 6 launcher.    
Jointly developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and EUMETSAT, this constellation of polar-orbiting Earth observation satellites will offer continuity of the current MetOp satellites while ensuring a new era of improved global weather, climate and air-quality monitoring.

MetOp-SG-A1 is the first in a series of three successive pairs of satellites. Its companion MetOp-SG-B1 will join it in orbit next year. The so-called ‘A’ satellites carry optical instruments whereas the ‘B’ satellites are equipped with microwave sensors.

MetOp-SG-A1 will deliver higher-resolution data and extended coverage to enhance forecasts and climate science over more than 20 years thanks to its advanced instruments such as IASI-NG, Microwave Sounder (MWS) and the European Copernicus Sentinel-5 spectrometer.

SPACEBEL has played a major role in this European flagship mission through expertise in payload on-board software, simulation and ground segment systems. An overview of our manifold contributions:

• Space Segment: we are in charge of the design and development of the Microwave Sounder (MWS) Instrument Control Unit Application software that will control the payload on board of the ‘A’ spacecraft.
• Ground segment: we provide the following ground data processing systems for the ‘A’ satellites:
  • MWS Ground Prototype Processor, i.e. an autonomous software tool that transforms raw data into radiometrically and geolocated calibrated products
  • MWS Instrument Data Simulator, i.e. a stand-alone software tool that simulates the MWS instrument in its orbital environment (payload simulator)
  • IASI-NG electrical ground support equipment (EGSE), i.e. the software infrastructure for the IASI-NG instrument, enabling electrical and functional tests to be carried out during the ground verification phase.
• Modelling & Simulation: we have realised the Real Time Simulation Models for the functional verification infrastructure and satellite simulator.

All these MetOp-SG software components demonstrate SPACEBEL’s strong involvement in one of Europe’s most advanced Earth observation programmes. Moreover, they perfectly reflect our company’s purpose: contribute to a safe and sustainable planet by engineering solutions for the global space ecosystem.

Watch the launch