MetOp-SG-B1 moves to a cleanroom

Out of storage

ESA's 4 November update says B1 has moved from storage into a cleanroom and left its transport container. Teams are preparing to reactivate it and begin final checks; the exact move date is unstated.[1]

ESA's 20 October report says B1 reached Kourou on 16 October, was offloaded the next day and entered storage.[2]

The next steps

ESA lists switching B1 on, final checks, fuelling and encapsulation inside Ariane 6's fairing as upcoming milestones. Launch is planned towards the end of 2026.[1]

Weather from polar orbit

The B-type satellites carry five instruments: a scatterometer for ocean-surface wind vectors and land soil moisture; a radio-occultation sounder for atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles; a microwave imager for precipitation and sea ice; an ice-cloud imager; and an Argos-4 system for data from surface platforms.[2]

MetOp-SG is planned as three successive satellite pairs to provide weather-forecasting and climate-prediction data for more than 20 years. A- and B-type spacecraft carry complementary instrument suites.[3]