N° 35–2025: Media invitation: MTG-S1 and Copernicus Sentinel-4 pre-launch briefings
13 June 2025
Two innovative Earth observation missions, the Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite and the Copernicus Sentinel-4 instrument, are set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, no earlier than July 2025.
Journalists are invited to learn more about these two missions by joining pre-launch media briefings in English, German, French and Italian on 24 June.
Two of these briefings – the English and the German iterations – will take place at the Living Planet Symposium in Vienna, with the possibility to connect online, while the sessions in French and Italian will be held online only. The English briefing will be livestreamed on ESA Web TV, and a recording will later be made available on the ESA website.
Both Meteosat Third Generation and Copernicus Sentinel-4 are world-class Earth observation missions developed with European partners to address scientific and societal challenges.
The MTG-S1 satellite will generate a completely new type of data product, especially suited to nowcasting severe weather events, with three-dimensional views of the atmosphere. Copernicus Sentinel-4 will be the first mission to monitor European air quality from geostationary orbit, providing hourly information that will transform how we predict air pollution across Europe.
Media briefing in French, 24 June, 10:45–11:45 CEST (online only)
Speakers:
Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes, ESA
Susanne Dieterle, System Manager, Eumetsat
Elisabeth Hamdouch, Deputy Head of Earth Observation Unit, European Commission
Hervé Roquet, Météo-France, NMHS
Media briefing in Italian, 24 June, 13:00–14:00 CEST (online only)
Speakers:
Giorgio Bagnasco, Copernicus Sentinel-4 Project Manager, ESA
Paolo Ruti, Chief Scientist, Eumetsat
Mauro Facchini, Head of Earth Observation Unit, European Commission
Silvia Puca, Protezione civile
Media briefing in English, 24 June, 15:00–16:00 CEST (in person and online)
Speakers:
Phil Evans, Director General, Eumetsat
Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes, ESA
Mauro Facchini, Head of Earth Observation Unit, European Commission
James Champion, MTG Project Manager, ESA
Florence Rabier, ECMWF
Media briefing in German, 24 June, 16:00–17:00 CEST (in person and online)
Speakers:
Alexander Schmid, H/GEO and MTG programme Manager, Eumetsat
Elisabeth Hamdouch, Deputy Head of Earth Observation Unit, European Commission
Tobias Guggenmoser, IRS performance engineer, ESA
Ben Veihelmann, Sentinel-4 Mission Scientist, ESA
Andreas Schaffhauser, Director General of GeoSphere
Media registration
Please choose the appropriate registration form here: https://blogs.esa.int/forms/esa-media-briefing-form/
Deadline for registrations: 20 June, 16.00 CEST.
More information:
- About Copernicus : https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-space/copernicus-earth-observation_en
- More information about the EU Space Programme: https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-space_en
Images
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Directorates/Observing_the_Earth/(result_type)/images
https://www.copernicus.eu/en/media/image-day
Terms and conditions for using ESA images:
For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly: spaceinimages@esa.int
Videos
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/(archive)/0/(type)/video
https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos_for_Professionals
Terms and conditions for using ESA videos:
For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly: spaceinvideos@esa.int
Social media
Follow ESA on:
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Instagram: @europeanspaceagency @ESA_Earth
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LinkedIn: European Space Agency - ESA
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About the European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe’s gateway to space.
ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
ESA has 23 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are Associate Members.
ESA has established formal cooperation with other four Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.
By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on advancing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.
Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int