The Meteosat heritage and future

METEOSAT is a European satellite programme that started in the seventies within the ESRO organisation (as shown by the handbook below dated October 1974).

A artist view of the Meteosat Operational Programme (MOP)

Credits EUMETSAT

 The first launch of  Meteosat-1  took place on 23rd of November 1977 and was followed by a series of seven spacecrafts. The mission was supported by an imager called MVIRI (for Meteosat Visible and Infra Red Imager). Note that Meteosat-7 launched on September 3rd 1997 is still working  to date!

The Meteosat programme was continued with Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) series. This new generation was bringing  significant improvements both on the platform and the Payload:

• SEVIRI Imager payload with 12 channels  enhanced imaging (3 chanels for MOP)
• Bi-propellant unified propulsion system (Powder booster for MOP)
• 600W power demand (200W for MOP)
• 1900kgs in Geo transfer orbit (720kgs for MOP)
• design compatibility with Ariane 5 (and Soyuz in Kourou to be confirmed)

An artist view of MSG (note the black aperture which is the opening for the SEVIRI imager)

Credits ESA

Four identical MSG spacecrafts were manufactured. Two are presently in orbit and the MSG-3 (Meteosat-10) will be launch  mid June 2012.

The fourth MSG spacecraft (Meteosat-11)  is foreseen to be launched in 2015 (to be confirmed) permitting the continuity of MSG service up to the the moment  the first spacecraft of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) programme will take over by the end of the decade. MTG is a programme of 6 Spacecrafts: 4 Imagers and 2 Sounders. One of the most significant technological breakthrough will be introduced by the 3 axes stabilised platform. This will enable to have a continuous view on Earth not interrupted by the spinning as it is the case at the moment with Meteosat and MSG spacecraft families. MTG should guarantee access to space-acquired meteorological data until at least the late 2030s.

An artist view of MTG-I and MTG-S

Credits ESA-P Carril

French Guiana: a selected bibliography

Histoire/History

• Jacques Francois Artur, Histoire des colonies francoises de la Guianne, Transcription etablie, présentée et annotée par Maris Polderman, Ibis rouge ediations
• L’histoire de la Guyane, Depuis les civilisations améridiennes, Ibis rouge editions
• Jack Le Roux, Atlas historique de la Guyane du XVI au XIX siècle, Editions du Valhermeil, 2008
• Marion Godfroy, Kourou 1763, Le dernier rêve de l’Amérique française, Vendemiaire (about the Kourou expedition in 1763)

Geographie, Habitat /Geography, Housing

• Paulin Bruné, Demeures traditionnelles de Guyane
• Frédéric Piantoni, Migrants en Guyane, Actes Sud/Musées des cultures guyanaises, 2011

Civilisation

• Marlène Mazière, Art rupestre amérindien en Guyane Francaise, Ibis Rouge edition

Littérature/Literature

• Henri Charrière, Papillon, Edition Laffont 1976. Collection Livre de poche n° 32845. ISBN 225300555x
• Alejo Carpentier, Le siècle des lumières, Folio

Bagne/Prisons

•  Albert Londres, Au bagne, Albin Michel
• Miche Pierre, Bagnards terres de la grande punition, Cayenne 1852-1953, Autrement collection mémoires
• Jack Le Roux, La Guyane le bagne, Un siècle de presse illustrée de 1840 à 1940, Edition du Valhermeil 2009, ISBN 978-2-35467-041-2
• Marion F. Godfroy, reportage Stanislas Fautré, Bagnards

Zoologie/Zoology

• Insectes de Guyane, Beauté et diversité, Collection Nature Guyanaise, Sous la direction de Pascal Gombaud, Sepangu
• Portraits d’oiseaux guyanais, Groupe d’étude de protection des oiseaux en Guyane, Ibis Rouge Editions
• P. Keith, P-Y Le Bail, P. Planquette, Atlas des poissons d’eau douce de Guyane (Tome 1 et 2), Museum national d’Histoire Naturelle, Institut d’Ecologie et de gestion de la Biodiversité, Service du patrimoine naturel
• Jean Lescure, Christian Marty, Atlas des amphibiens de Guyane, Museum national d’Histoire Naturellle, Institut d’Ecologie et de gestion de la Biodiversité, Service du patrimoine naturel

Trees and plants

• Guide de reconnaissance des arbres de Guyane - 120 essences décrites, 2ième éditions. Office national des forêts

Tourisme/Tousrism

• Dominique Auzias, Jean-Pierre Labourdette, Le petit futé Guyane, Escapade au Suriname, 2010-2011 (www.petitfute.com)
• Philippe Boré, Guide Guyane 2010-2012, Tourisme culture et randonnées, ISBN 978-2-9511548-6-5

Abreviations

This message, to be updated regularly, is a support to the reading of this blog in case Abbreviations are omitted to be explicited in the text.

•  AOCS Attitude and orbit Control Sub System
• ASI Agence Saptiale Italienne
• BAF Bâtiment d'Assemblage Final/Final Assembly Building
• CCU Container de Charge Utile (Paylaod Transport Container)
• CDL-3 Centre de Lancement Nr.3
• CNES Centre National de Etudes Spatiales
• CSG Centre Spatial Guyanais
• EAP Etage d'Accéleration à Poudre
• EDA Electronically Despun Antenna
• ELA Ensemble de Lancement Ariane
• ELS Ensemble de Lancement Soyuz (Soyuz launch complex)
• EPC Etage Principal Cryogenic/Main Cryogenic Stage
• EPCU Ensemble de Préparation de Charge Utile
• EPS Electrical Power Sub System
• ESA European Space Agency
• ESC Etage Superieur Cryogénqiue/Upper Cryogenic Stage
• HPF Hazardous Processing Facility
• LAM Liquid Apogee Motor
• LBC Local Control Blanc
• LEOP Launch and Early operation Phase
• MEOP Maximum Expeted Operational Pressure
• MLI Multi Layer Insulation
• MSG Meteosat Second Generation
• OSR Optical Sun Reflector
• PFEI PlateForme Elévatrice Inpérieure
• PFES PlateForme Elévatrice Supérieure
• PTS Pressure Test Set
• RCT Reaction Control Thruster 
• SCAPE Self Contined Atmospheric Protective Ensemble
• SEVIRI 
• SYLDA SYstème de Lancement Double Ariane
• TAS Thales 
• TBC To Be Confirmed
• TBD To Be Defined
• TCS Thermal Control System
• UPS Unified propulsion Systtem

Welcome !

View of a 1:1 scale mock up of MSG-3 exhibited at the Nice Airport

This blog will report, as from begining of April 2012, about the MSG-3  launch campaign that will take place at the Centre Spatial Guyannais (CSG*) in Kourou, French Guiana.

MSG stands for Meteosat Second Generation. It is a family of four identical spacecrafts aiming at weather forecast.

• Two have already been launched: MSG-1 on 28 August 2002 and MSG-2 on 22 December 2005.  They are today fully operational but of course ageing after almost 10 years in space for MSG-1
• MSG-3 (identified as Meteosat-10) is the third exemplar of the MSG family. It is planned to be launched mid june 2012 to ensure the continuity of service together with MSG-2 after MSG-1 "retirement"
•  MSG-4 is the last member of the MSG family. The satellite is already manufactured and is  in storage at the moment. The launch will be planned in the future in order to optimally bridge with the next Meteosat generation: MTG (Metosat Third Generation) that should be ready by end of the decade.

All MSG spacecrafts have been built by the THALES group and its branch located in Cannes, France.

This blog is informal and is intended to support families, colleagues, friends  and fans of MSG-3 who will follow the launch campaign from remote.

Important: Official information related to MSG-3 will be released in due time by ESA and EUMETSAT the owner of the Spacecraft.

See you all soon !

K.B.

*The CSG is operated by CNES , Arianespace (AE) and ESA.

Updates:
7/3/2012, ESA, MSG-3 satellite ready to continue weather-monitoring service
15/03/2012, BBC, Europe's latest weather eye set for launch
29/03/2012, From Thales: MSG-3 in clean room at Cannes ready to go!

Credits: Thales

04/04/2012, First members of the Launch Campaign team arrived in Kourou