First Ariane 6’s first mission to geostationary orbit on August 27, 2026

On 27 August 2026, Arianespace will launch the MTG-I2 meteorological satellite with the Ariane 62 configuration from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

The mission is expected to last approximatively 36 minutes from lift-off to satellite separation.

The mission MTG-I2 will mark the fourth Ariane 6 launch of the year and the first to a geostationary orbit.

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 will 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 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.

The satellite arrived in French Guiana on June 12 and is currently undergoing launch preparations at the Europe’s Spaceport.

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

With this launch, Arianespace will further strengthen Europe’s strategic and autonomous access to space for key institutional missions such as meteorological satellites, ensuring the continuity of weather forecasting and climate monitoring through a reliable and versatile launch service.

VA270 launch at a glance:

• 362^nd launch by Arianespace, 4^th Arianespace launch in 2026
• 9^th Ariane 6 launch and 6^th launch of Ariane 62
• 1^st Ariane 6 mission to geostationary transfer orbit