emirates7 - On Tuesday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched an advanced European weather satellite and completed a smooth landing on a drone ship at sea.
The rocket took off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the MTG-Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit.
Roughly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s first stage returned to Earth as expected, landing on a SpaceX drone ship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the MTG-S1 satellite is equipped with an infrared sounder that will gather data on temperature, humidity, wind, and trace gases. This information will be used to 3D maps of the atmosphere, significantly enhancing the accuracy of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) weather forecasts.
The satellite will monitor Europe and parts of northern Africa on a 15-minute repeat cycle, offering meteorologists a comprehensive view of weather conditions. It will also complement cloud and lightning data provided by the MTG-Imager (MTG-I) satellite.
The rocket took off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the MTG-Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit.
Roughly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s first stage returned to Earth as expected, landing on a SpaceX drone ship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the MTG-S1 satellite is equipped with an infrared sounder that will gather data on temperature, humidity, wind, and trace gases. This information will be used to 3D maps of the atmosphere, significantly enhancing the accuracy of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) weather forecasts.
The satellite will monitor Europe and parts of northern Africa on a 15-minute repeat cycle, offering meteorologists a comprehensive view of weather conditions. It will also complement cloud and lightning data provided by the MTG-Imager (MTG-I) satellite.