Arianespace successfully launches weather satellite MTG-I2 on Ariane 6’s first mission to geostationary orbit

On August 27, 2026, at 5:11 pm local time, Arianespace successfully launched MTG-I2, the second Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite, aboard an Ariane 62 launcher, the two-booster configuration of Ariane 6, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The satellite was accurately injected into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) at an altitude of 2,778 km above the Equator. Thirty-six minutes after lift-off, MTG-I2 successfully separated from the launcher and continued its journey to its operational geostationary orbit (GEO) at an altitude of 36,000 km.

David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace, said: “The success of the MTG-I2 mission, Ariane 6’s first launch to geostationary transfer orbit, marks a major milestone for the programme. By launching this meteorological satellite, which will provide essential data for European citizens, Arianespace has once again demonstrated its ability to meet the needs of major institutional missions, while confirming the availability of a reliable, sovereign launch service aligned with Europe’s ambitions. We would like to thank the teams of our customer EUMETSAT for their continued trust.”

Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) is part of a new generation of geostationary satellites providing imagery for the early detection of fast-developing severe storms, weather forecasting and climate monitoring. The combination of MTG’s innovative instruments and their increased resolution and sensitivity offer significant enhancement on Meteosat Second Generation, particularly in the challenging task of early detection and prediction of rapidly evolving and potentially dangerous weather events such as severe thunderstorms. The MTG system is the most complex and innovative meteorological geostationary system ever built. Its fleet will comprise two imaging satellites and one sounding satellite in orbit 36,000km above the Earth.

The MTG-I2 satellite complete the first family of the MTG system, the most powerful weather constellation in the world. MTG-I2 will provide a rapid scan service over Europe every 2.5 minutes, working together with Meteosat-12 (MTG-I1), which was successfully launched by Ariane 5 VA259 in December 2022, ensuring the continuity and resilience of Europe’s operational meteorological services.

MTG satellites have been developed by ESA based on the users’ requirement collected by EUMETSAT, and built by a large consortium of European industries led by prime contractor Thales Alenia Space with main partners OHB System in Germany and Leonardo in Italy. EUMETSAT develops the ground infrastructure to control and communicate with the satellites, operates them throughout their lifetime, and disseminates the scientific data to users worldwide.

Ariane 6 is a programme developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) – ensuring development and monitoring operations to help deliver a sovereign, reliable and available launch system for its Member States.