27 August 2026 – The MTG-I2 weather satellite, built by prime contractor Thales Alenia Space, was successfully launched today by Arianespace aboard an Ariane 62 launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. MTG-I2 is the second imaging satellite in the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) program, designed to improve weather forecasting in Europe and Africa. The MTG program is a collaborative venture between the European Space Agency (ESA) and EUMETSAT to ensure the continuity of high-resolution weather monitoring beyond 2040. Built by Thales Alenia Space in cooperation with OHB, the MTG satellites will operate in geostationary orbit, 36,000 km above the Earth, and have a nominal lifespan of 8.5 years. Read more