Second Meteosat Third Generation Imager completes thermal testing ahead of Ariane 2 launch

Second Meteosat Third Generation Imager completes thermal testing ahead of Ariane 2 launch
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 07, 2025

The second Meteosat Third Generation Imager, MTG-I2, has cleared a key milestone in its preparation for launch after completing thermal vacuum testing at Thales Alenia Space's cleanroom facilities in Cannes, France. The satellite endured extreme simulated space temperatures from -180C to +150C, verifying its resilience in the geostationary environment.

Francesco Cainero, ESA's Lead Space Segment engineer, said "These huge temperature variations pose difficulties and risks at both hot and cold plateaus during the testing of the survival thermal control; additionally, before reaching the extreme cold testing phase, there was the risk of corona discharge impacting the radio frequency equipment - but thanks to the expertise of all involved this risk was easily mitigated."

ESA, Thales Alenia Space, Eumetsat, and Leonardo teams coordinated the test campaign, building on experience from the first MTG-Imager to streamline procedures. With the Lightning Imager and Flexible Combined Imager instruments successfully mounted, MTG-I2 moves toward mechanical integration of solar arrays, communications systems, and subsequent vibration testing.

MTG-I2 is scheduled for launch in 2026 as the sole payload on an Ariane 2 rocket, under a new service agreement confirmed by the EUMETSAT Council in Darmstadt. Originally slated for an Ariane 64, the dedicated launch will place the satellite 36,000 km above Earth. Once operational, MTG-I2 will deliver high-resolution imagery over Europe every 2.5 minutes, doubling the scan rate of its predecessors.

Phil Evans, EUMETSAT Director-General, noted "Extreme weather has cost European countries at least 85,000 lives and hundreds of billions of euros over the past four decades. The rapid scanning over Europe provided by MTG-I2 will be invaluable for nowcasting dangerous conditions. As part of the Meteosat Third Generation constellation, MTG-I2 data will support meteorologists in tracking the full life cycle of severe storms, from their formation to dissipation."

David Cavailloles, Arianespace Chief Executive Officer, added: "Following Arianespace's successful launch of EUMETSAT's Metop-SGA1 satellite in August, this new contract further strengthens the solid relationship between EUMETSAT and Arianespace. We strive to offer our customers the best solutions to enable them to achieve their ambitions. Arianespace is proud to launch MTG-I2, a major European environmental satellite."

The MTG program is jointly developed by ESA and EUMETSAT, with Thales Alenia Space serving as prime contractor for the satellites and Leonardo providing the Lightning Imager instrument. Together with MTG-I1, launched in 2022, and MTG-S1, launched in 2025, MTG-I2 will complete the first operational set of Europe's next-generation meteorological satellites.