Metop-C ready for big day

With liftoff set for 7 November, the latest Metop weather satellite has been rolled out to the launch pad and positioned on the Soyuz rocket for its ride into space from French Guiana.

Metop-C is the last in the current series of Metop satellites, following on from Metop-A and Metop-B, which were launched in 2006 and 2012, respectively.

Launching the satellites sequentially ensures continuous observations of a host of atmospheric variables such as temperature, humidity, trace gases, ozone, and wind speed over the ocean.

These data are used mainly for numerical weather prediction – the basis for weather forecasting. Recent studies show that Metop-A and Metop-B have already reduced errors in one-day forecasts by as much as 27%.

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