METEOSAT Second Generation (MSG) F4 was successfully launched earlier today from Korou aboard an Ariane 5 launcher. TRAK has supplied a number of customers with components for this fourth MSG payload including coaxial and stripline components in equipment including transponders, telemetry receivers and data transmission.
Two generations of active Meteosat satellites, Meteosat First Generation and Meteosat Second Generation, providing images of the full Earth disc, and data for weather forecasts.
In geostationary orbit 36,000 km above the equator, the Meteosat satellites — Meteosat-7, -8, -9 and -10 — operate over Europe and Africa. The first Meteosat in the series was launched in 1997 and operates still until it is de-orbited in 2017.
Weighing 2 tons, the MSG-4 is the 142nd satellite built by Thales Alenia Space to be launched by Arianespace and is planned to be in service for seven years. Wednesday’s launch was the 80th for the Ariane 5 rocket.