EUMETSAT's Metop Second Generation A1 (Metop-SGA1), launched on August 13, is transmitting data from two of its six advanced instruments. Early readings from the Microwave Sounder (MWS) and Radio Occultation Sounder (RO) offer a first glimpse into the satellite’s potential to transform meteorological and climate monitoring with unprecedented precision.

The satellite, first to be deployed of the EUMETSAT Polar System – Second Generation, is Europe’s groundbreaking polar-orbiting weather satellite programme. By augmenting Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models and providing essential observations of atmospheric composition and ocean parameters, Metop-SGA1 will help to protect the health and property of European citizens.

Metop-SGA1’s instruments are currently undergoing a complex and exhaustive commissioning process. Initial data from two of the spacecraft’s sounders has nonetheless already been received through the Svalbard Ground Station and processed at EUMETSAT. The MWS is a microwave sounder that detects temperature, humidity, precipitation, and ice cloud formation and features a twofold improvement in resolution compared with its predecessor. The instrument began sensing just one week after launch, and imagery from its Channel 2 data during the first scanning orbit clearly shows summer temperatures in Europe and sea ice around the Antarctic.

The Radio Occultation Sounder is a limb-sounding instrument that produces around 1,400 daily vertical profiles of temperature and humidity, along with electron density profiles in the ionosphere. The RO has a very high vertical resolution, enabling it to give detailed insight into the vertical structure of the atmosphere. RO data also helps in calibrating other remote sensing observations, as it is weather-independent and calibration-free. Temperature profiles from the RO from 20 August demonstrate how the instrument may enhance existing forecasts in the future.

Both the MWS and RO will provide inputs of unprecedented precision for NWP. While these early signals show that progress is continuing at pace, the data is not yet operationally qualified, and the commissioning of Metop-SGA1 is expected to require months of thorough testing and calibration before any data are released to Member State meteorological services or other users.

Phil Evans, EUMETSAT Director-General, said: “Receiving these first data so quickly is a thrilling achievement for EUMETSAT, particularly considering the technological sophistication of Metop-SGA1 and its payload. In collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and our European industry partners, EUMETSAT teams are working intensely to render all the satellite’s instruments operational, and the fact that data is already flowing seamlessly from the MWS and the RO shows that we are firmly on the right track to having powerful, validated products ready for our user community in the planned timeframe.”

Simonetta Cheli, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, said, “These first glimpses of data are extremely encouraging, and I want to thank all the teams who have contributed – both to developing the mission as a whole and to operating and commissioning Metop-SGA1 in orbit. This is a major undertaking: six satellites in total, flying in successive pairs and delivering critical data for at least the next 20 years. While we closely monitor Metop-SGA1’s early performance, we are already in the final stages of preparing its companion, Metop-SGB1, for launch next year."

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