| By Carlos PIRES, | |
A pitcher Ariane 5 successfully took off this Tuesday from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying the meteorological satellite MTG-I1 and the Galaxy telecommunications satellites Galaxy 35 et Galaxy 36.
The system Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) will help meteorologists meet one of their main challenges – the rapid detection and prediction of severe weather events – so that timely warnings can be given to citizens, civil authorities and first responders. Data from MTG-I1 (the I means Imager ) will have a wide range of uses, from allowing aircraft to avoid storms and providing early flood warnings, to more accurately monitoring fires and fog. It will help protect lives, property and infrastructure and bring economic benefits to Europe and Africa. MTG satellites are developed and purchased in cooperation with the European Space Agency by an industrial consortium led by Thales Alenia Space and OHB. The satellites are developed according to the needs defined by EUMETSAT after consulting the users of its meteorological data.
Galaxy 35 and Galaxy 36 are the next satellites in Galaxy’s comprehensive fleet renewal planIntelsat, a new generation of spacecraft that will provide Intelsat’s multimedia customers in North America with high-performance multimedia distribution capabilities and unparalleled cable headend penetration. These two satellites will provide C-band contribution capability to support high profile events, such as college and professional football, auto racing, baseball, golf, boxing and professional wrestling. The satellites also provide in-orbit protection for certain customers in the broadcast arc serving North America.
