Europe's MetOp-SG-B1 weather satellite moves to the cleanroom at Kourou for switch-on before an Ariane 6 launch
4 November 2026
The European Space Agency has taken its MetOp Second Generation-B1 weather satellite out of its transport container and moved it into a cleanroom at the spaceport in Kourou, where the team will switch it on, run final checks and fuel it before it is enclosed in the Ariane 6 fairing.
The satellite is the product of more than 12 years of development.
It left Bordeaux on 6 October 2026 aboard the sail-assisted transport vessel Canopée and reached Kourou on 16 October, travelling in a container held at a steady 22 degrees Celsius under nitrogen.
Launch is planned for the end of 2026 on an Ariane 6 rocket, after which it will work alongside its sibling MetOp-SG-A1, launched in August 2025.
The two satellites of a pair carry complementary instrument suites that measure temperature, precipitation, clouds and winds.
ESA says the MetOp-SG programme is built around three successive pairs of satellites, designed to supply weather and climate data for more than 20 years.
In plain words
Cleanroom A dust-controlled assembly hall — Satellites are prepared in filtered air so particles do not settle on optics and instruments.
Kourou Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana — The launch site from which Ariane and Vega rockets fly.