European weather satellite MTG-I2 reaches final orbit to sharpen forecasting

Paris: The MTG-I2 satellite has successfully reached its final orbit at an altitude of about 36,000 kilometres above Earth, paving the way for its testing and commissioning phase, the European Space Agency announced on Thursday.

The satellite, launched last July aboard an Ariane 6 rocket, has joined the MTG-I1 and MTG-S1 satellites designed to monitor weather and the atmosphere from geostationary orbit, ESA said.

MTG-I2 will undergo a series of tests and calibration over the coming months to verify its instruments before being handed over to EUMETSAT, the organisation responsible for operating Europe's weather and climate satellites and supplying their data to meteorological services.

Once operational, the satellite will deliver more detailed imagery and data on the atmosphere, clouds and storms, bolstering weather forecasting and the monitoring of severe weather across Europe and North Africa.

MTG-I2 is the second imaging satellite in the third-generation system developed by ESA in cooperation with EUMETSAT to provide more accurate weather data.