Media invitation: MetOp-SG-A1 and Sentinel-5 launch event at ESA ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands

MetOp-SG-A1 is the first of the MetOp Second Generation satellites, which will ensure the continuity of global observations for weather forecasting and climate analysis, providing enhanced data compared to the first generation of MetOp. And the Copernicus Sentinel-5 instrument hosted on board the MetOp-SG satellite will deliver daily global data on key air pollutants, essential climate variables and stratospheric ozone, as part of the European Commission’s Copernicus programme. 

Media representatives attending the launch event have the opportunity to book interviews with leading ESA, Eumetsat and industry experts, European Commission officials, members of the Copernicus user communities, and space agency representatives, who will be present at the event.

The launch of MetOp-SG-A1 and Sentinel-5 on an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana will be broadcast live, with journalists able to follow the critical ’launch and early orbit phase’, known as LEOP.

The event will take place at ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC), Noordwijk, on 12–13 August 2025.

The following media programme has been planned for journalists on site; note that timings are subject to change due to ongoing operations. Further details will be confirmed on arrival.

Evening Highlights (CEST times)

• 22:00 – Doors open, welcome refreshments
• 23:10 – Event opening, from Dietmar Pilz (Head of ESTEC and ESA Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality)
• 23:30 – 01:55– Presentations and live interviews with mission experts, including:
  
  1. Overview of the MetOp-SG programme and Sentinel-5 mission
  2. Climate science, meteorology and user applications
  3. European and industrial contributions (Leonardo, Airbus, Beyond Gravity, DLR and CNES)
  4. The Copernicus programme and future outlook
• 02:20 – Live broadcast from Kourou: countdown and launch
• 03:50 – Closing remarks

Experts available for interviews

Interviews can be booked in advance with:

• Dietmar Pilz (ESA), Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality
• Thorsten Fehr (ESA) – Head of ESA Earth Science Division  
• Luca Salghetti Drioli (ESA) – MetOp-SG Payload Manager in the MetOp-SG Programme 
• Graziano Mori (Eumetsat) – Director of Technical and Scientific Support
• Richard Gilmore (European Commission) –  DG DEFIS

Industry representatives from Leonardo, Airbus Defence & Space, Beyond Gravity, DLR, CNES.

Media accreditation:

Please register by 8 August 2025 at the latest.

Please select and complete the relevant form at: Esa media Accreditation Form  

How to get to ESA/ESTEC: ESA - How to get to ESTEC

ESA Web TV  

The launch will also be streamed via ESA Web TV:

www.esa.int/esawebtv

ESA Media Relations contacts:

Nora Svensson Hahr - Nora.Svensson@ext.esa.int

Roberta Stazi  Roberta.Stazi@ext.esa.int media@esa.int

media@esa.int

About MetOp Second Generation

Data from the first-generation MetOp satellites have been the most significant factor in enhancing the accuracy of European weather forecasts for periods ranging from 12 hours to 10 days. But now it’s time for the MetOp-Second Generation mission, or MetOp-SG for short, to take over the reins – not only ensure the continuity of global observations from polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate analysis, but to do it even better.

Unlike the original MetOp series of three successive single satellites, the all-new MetOp-SG mission comprises three successive pairs of satellites. Each MetOp-SG pair is made up of an A-type and a B-type satellite that carry a different, but complementary, suite of remarkable instruments. The package totals ten different instruments across both satellites, some of which are based on the sound heritage of the first MetOp series, and some of which are completely new.

The A-type satellites carry six instruments: a next-generation infrared atmospheric sounder, a microwave sounder, a multispectral imaging radiometer, a novel multiviewing, multichannel, multipolarisation imager, a radio occultation sounder (which is also embarked on the MetOp-B satellites) and the Copernicus Sentinel-5 spectrometer.

The type-B satellites carry five instruments: a scatterometer, the other radio occultation sounder, a novel microwave imager, a novel ice-cloud imager and an Argos-4 data collection system.

The first MetOp-SG satellite, an A-type, MetOp-SG-A1, is scheduled for launch in August.

The mission is thanks to the long-standing cooperation between ESA and Eumetsat, where ESA is responsible for designing and building the satellites, and Eumetsat procures the launch service, develops the ground segment, operates the satellites and provides the data to the worldwide meteorological user community.

About Copernicus Sentinel-5

Building on the success of the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite, the new Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission introduces an advanced imaging spectrometer. This cutting-edge instrument is integrated into the MetOp Second Generation A-type weather satellites, working in synergy with other onboard instruments.

Sentinel-5 delivers daily global data on key air pollutants, essential climate variables and stratospheric ozone that protects us from ultraviolet radiation. The mission’s high-resolution imaging spectrometer operates across seven spectral bands, spanning the ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared ranges to measure a host of trace gases, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, formaldehyde, glyoxal, carbon monoxide and methane, as well as aerosols and UV index. Additionally, the instrument will probe the vertical distribution on some of these components.

The first Sentinel-5 instrument, Sentinel-5A, is scheduled for launch aboard the MetOp-SG-A1 satellite in August.

The Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission is the result of close cooperation between ESA, the European Commission, Eumetsat, industry, service providers and data users.

Copernicus is the Earth Observation component of the European Union Space Programme.

More information

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Meteorological_missions/MetOp_Second_Generation

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/The_Sentinel-5_mission

https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Ariane

https://www.eumetsat.int/

https://www.copernicus.eu/en

https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/about/who-are-we_en

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The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.  

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.  

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