First image from Europe’s latest weather satellite.
[MSG-3 first image of Earth, acquired on 7 August 2012 by its Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI). Credits: Eumetsat.]
"MSG-3 has captured its first image of the Earth, demonstrating that the geostationary weather satellite is performing well and is on its way to taking over operational service after six months of commissioning.
The satellite was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket on Thursday, 5 July from Europe’s spaceport at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
The UK made a significant investment in the MSG series. The Met Office invested £89M to fund operating costs and a further £6M was contributed by the government towards the programme development. There has been a significant return on this investment with involvement from over 50 science and industry partners from the UK.
On board the MSG-3 is the 200th instrument built by RAL Space to be launched. The Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget instrument (GERB) was built by a UK consortium led by RAL Space. This landmark demonstrates the proficiency of the UK’s space industry in developing world class science instruments."
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