38552 - METEOSAT-10 (MSG 3)

Produced by a Thales Alenia Space-led European consortium, MSG 3 will be operated by EUMETSAT (the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites).

The satellite's primary instrument is the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infra-red Imager (SEVIRI), which builds images of the Earth's surface and atmosphere in 12 different wavelengths once every 15 minutes. Four of the 12 SEVIRI channels look at sunlight reflected from the Earth's surface and clouds, while the remaining eight are designed to monitor thermal infrared wavelengths.

Also carried on MSG 3 is the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument for measurements of radiation originating on Earth from the Sun. The payload is completed by a communications package for the rebroadcast of EUMETSAT data to end users' ground stations, as well as a search and rescue transponder for the international COSPAS-SARSAT program.

The last of the series, MSG 4, is planned for launch in 2015.

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 2012-07-05
Launch Vehicle: Ariane 5 ECA
Launch Site: Kourou, French Guiana