A weather satellite that crossed the Atlantic by ship is now out of its protective container. On 4 November the European Space Agency reported that MetOp-SG-B1 had been moved into a cleanroom at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Engineers can now prepare to switch it on and test it before it goes anywhere near orbit.
The sea voyage and the work now under way are different stages of the mission. The ship Canopée left Bordeaux in France with the spacecraft on 6 October and arrived in Kourou on 16 October. After arrival, the satellite stayed in its container in storage. Inside, a dry nitrogen environment and a steady temperature of 22 degrees Celsius protected its components.
Getting it out of the container does not mean it has started taking weather measurements. The planned sequence includes switching it on, carrying out final checks and loading fuel. The spacecraft will then go inside the protective covering on an Ariane 6 rocket. ESA says the launch is planned for towards the end of the year.
B1 has a partner. The A1 satellite in the same programme was launched in August 2025. The instruments on the two spacecraft do different jobs. Among the instruments on B1 is a radar that measures roughness at the sea surface. Scientists can use that information to estimate the speed and direction of winds over the ocean.
Another instrument will use microwave observations to provide information about precipitation and clouds, among other things. The aim is to give forecasters more than one kind of observation to work with. The wider programme calls for three successive pairs of satellites to sustain a stream of measurements for more than 20 years.
What it means for you. If you see the pictures alongside a weather headline, check which step the spacecraft has reached. The pictures document a milestone on the ground. A launch and working instruments in orbit still have to follow before this particular satellite can contribute observations to the forecasts people consult.