METEOSAT 10 (MSG 3)

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METEOSAT 10 (MSG 3) is classified as:

NORAD ID: 38552

Int'l Code: 2012-035B

Perigee: 35,787.5 km

Apogee: 35,795.3 km

Inclination: 3.9 °

Period: 1,436.0 minutes

Semi major axis: 42162 km

RCS: 25.2984 m² (large)

Launch date: July 5, 2012
Source: European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUME)
Launch site: FRENCH GUIANA (FRGUI)

Manufactured by Thales Alenia Space for Eumetsat, Europe's weather satellite agency, the METEOSAT 10 (MSG 3) satellite is the third of four current-generation Meteosat observatories planned to launch through 2015. MSG 3 will collect highly-detailed imagery of Europe, the North Atlantic, and Africa every 15 minutes for use by weather forecasters. The 4,486-pound (2,035-kg) satellite will operate for at least 7 years, and it will be renamed Meteosat 10 when it enters service. It will replace Meteosat 8, which launched in 2002 and has surpassed its design life, according to Sergio Rota, head of geostationary satellite programs at Eumetsat. Rota said Meteosat 10 will enter service at the beginning of 2013, assuming responsibility for full-disk imaging of Earth in a zone stretching from the North Pole to the South Pole and from Chile to India. Meteosat 9—launched in 2005—will take over rapid-scan services, collecting data every 5 minutes in a specific region over Europe.