European Space Agency (ESA) and EUMETSAT Launch Combo MTG-S1, Sentinel-4 Satellite on SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

A European satellite, Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1), designed to monitor weather and air quality, has been launched from Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The satellite will operate in a geostationary Earth orbit and will undergo a commissioning period of 9-12 months before sending down usable data. This is the ninth flight for the Falcon 9 booster, and the 127th landing for the droneship "Just Read the Instructions."

July 02, 2025 - The European Space Agency (ESA) and European partners have achieved a significant milestone with the successful launch of the Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite. The satellite, designed to monitor Earth's atmosphere and contribute to weather forecasting and air quality monitoring, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket [1].

The launch marked the ninth flight for the Falcon 9 booster and the 127th landing for the droneship "Just Read the Instructions" [2]. The satellite is now in a geostationary Earth orbit, approximately 36,000 kilometers above the planet's surface. It will undergo a commissioning period of 9-12 months before sending down usable data.

The LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) for MTG-S1 was successfully concluded, with the satellite handed over to the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat) for further operations. The LEOP phase was managed by Telespazio and involved a team of around 130 experts working around the clock from the Telespazio Mission Control Centre in Fucino and the Backup Control Centre in Cannes [1].

The commissioning phase will involve activating the satellite's state-of-the-art instruments, paving the way for a new era in weather forecasting and air quality monitoring. The project is a collaboration between ESA, OHB SE, Airbus, Thales Alenia Space, and Eumetsat [1].

References:
[1] https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Meteorological_missions/meteosat_third_generation/Another_milestone_for_the_future_of_European_weather_observation
[2] https://www.geekwire.com/2025/spacex-amazon-project-kuiper-satellites/