European satellite maker Thales Alenia Space said Friday that it has gotten the green light from the European Space Agency for its project to build a system of third generation weather satellites.
The company said in a statement that it has signed a contract worth 1.3 billion euros (1.77 billion U.S. dollars) with Germany's OHB-System to build the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) system.
"This program, co-financed by the European Space Agency and the European meteorological organization Eumetsat, will guarantee access to space data until 2037," the company said.
The MTG is a six-satellite system for both climate and meteorological applications. It is composed of four imaging satellites carrying imaging and lightning detection mission, and two other sounding satellites providing infrared and ultraviolet capabilities.
The first to be launched would be an imaging satellite planned for 2017, and then followed by a sounding satellite in 2019, according to Thales Alenia Space, which is owned by French aerospace group Thales and Italy's Finmeccanica.
The company said in a statement that it has signed a contract worth 1.3 billion euros (1.77 billion U.S. dollars) with Germany's OHB-System to build the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) system.
"This program, co-financed by the European Space Agency and the European meteorological organization Eumetsat, will guarantee access to space data until 2037," the company said.
The MTG is a six-satellite system for both climate and meteorological applications. It is composed of four imaging satellites carrying imaging and lightning detection mission, and two other sounding satellites providing infrared and ultraviolet capabilities.
The first to be launched would be an imaging satellite planned for 2017, and then followed by a sounding satellite in 2019, according to Thales Alenia Space, which is owned by French aerospace group Thales and Italy's Finmeccanica.
