The European Space Agency's (ESA) new weather satellite will soon go to space.
The space agency recently revealed that Europe's first Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I1) satellite is ready to be put into space and execute its primary function of providing real-time monitoring of Earth's atmosphere.
The MTG-I1 is set for launch on Dec. 13, 2022, though the ESA gave no specific time as to exactly when the rocket carrying the satellite will launch.
MTG-I1 Satellite Fuelling Details
The ESA mentioned in its announcement that its MTG-I1 satellite had finished its fuelling process - a critical and extremely hazardous achievement on its road to being sent into space.
The satellite has been at ESA's Spaceport in French Guiana since mid-October to be readied for liftoff, with it being checked for any defects in its functionality and deployables for the last time on Earth.
The satellite's deployables include the satellite's solar array, the Ka-band antenna, and the Data Collection Service and Geostationary Search and Rescue instrument antennas.
Once the satellite and its deployables were checked out and good to go, the ESA had it loaded with two tons of highly volatile fuel into its central tanks to power its final geostationary orbit. The amount loaded into the satellite is enough for the satellite to stay in its orbit for 15 years.
The fuel consists of a highly toxic hydrazine and oxidizer, which needs to be loaded into the satellite delicately. To do so, the ESA had it moved to its S5B Hazardous Processing Facility to detect and decontaminate the system should there be a fuel leak during the loading process.
Thankfully, the facility detected no leaks of any kind. James Champion, ESA's launch campaign manager, said that all the teams were "very happy" about the satellite being fully loaded with fuel without any mishaps.
He also praised the fueling team for a job well done in his statement, for doing their duty "without a hitch."
According to a statement from Thales Alenia Space, an Ariane 5 rocket will take the MTG-I1 satellite to orbit on launch day from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.
What Is The MTG-I1?
The MTG-I1 satellite is the ESA's first imaging satellite in its Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) program, which will improve its weather forecasting in Europe and Africa.
The MTG program is a collaborative venture between the ESA and EUMETSAT to ensure the continuity of high-resolution weather monitoring from the Meteosat Second Generation series beyond 2040.
The MTG-I1 satellite the ESA will be launching into orbit on Dec. 13 is the first of six MTG-1 satellites that will form the full MTG system, which consists of four MTG-1 satellites and two atmospheric sounding satellites (MTG-S) when completed.
Once it is, it will be capable of providing 3D maps of the atmosphere and critical data for weather forecasting over the next 20 years, detecting severe storms in their early stages to issue critical storm warnings on time.
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