MetOp-SG-B1 reaches French Guiana ahead of launch
ESA announced the weather satellite’s arrival after a ten-day voyage. It will observe winds, soil and ice; it is not yet in orbit.
RockGeo Editorial · Published on
Event date: 10/16/2026 · Source date: 10/20/2026
Sources accessed on 10/20/2026, 20:05 GMT
©ESA–P. Sebriot · ESA Standard Licence — editorial use
ESA announced on 20 October 2026 that the MetOp-SG-B1 weather satellite had reached French Guiana after a ten-day Atlantic voyage from Bordeaux, France. The ship Canopée arrived on 16 October; the satellite container was unloaded on the 17th and taken to the spaceport. The announcement concerns a ground phase of the mission, before launch.
Before departure, the satellite underwent final testing at Airbus facilities in Toulouse and was packed for transport. It travelled by lorry to Bordeaux and then by sea. The photograph released with the news shows the equipment before it entered the container: it documents industrial preparation, rather than a satellite in orbit or unloading.
The MetOp Second Generation programme was designed as three successive satellite pairs, with complementary instruments on A- and B-type spacecraft. From polar orbit, they are intended to provide temperature, precipitation, cloud and wind measurements for weather and climate prediction over more than twenty years. The first A-type satellite launched on 13 August 2025.
On B1, a scatterometer will measure ocean-surface wind vectors and soil moisture. A microwave imager will monitor precipitation and sea-ice extent; another instrument will measure cloud-ice water. The package also includes radio-occultation sounding and Argos-4 data collection. These variables connect atmosphere, land surface and ocean in Earth-system observations.
According to the announcement, B1 would remain in storage for a few weeks before preparations to fly on Ariane 6, with launch expected at the end of 2026. This is a schedule expectation, not confirmation of liftoff. Arrival does not establish operational data availability: the instruments and objectives described here remain the planned capability of this mission.