The three 4.5-tonne METOP satellites will be launched from 2003 on an orbit that will take them looping over the North and South Poles at a height of 840 kilometers (530 miles), the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a statement.

The contract was signed between ESA and EUMETSAT, a consortium of European countries that operates weather satellites, and a group of builders that includes the Franco-British firm Matra Marconi Space, Daimler Chrysler Aerospace and Alenia Aerospazio of Italy.

The METOPs will carry a dozen instruments to monitor wind, humidity and the ozone layer, as well as images to help monitor the state of the polar ice caps, which climatologists fear are at threat from global warming.

EUMETSAT's current family of satellites are coming to the end of their operational life. They were launched around 20 years ago and were placed in a distant, geostationary orbit about 36,000 kilometers (22,500 miles) from Earth.

The new satellites will also provide data for a joint polar observation mission with the United States.

METOP Mission Sheet

Copyright 1999 AFP. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by AFP and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Space

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

SPACEDAILY

Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.