PARIS (Sputnik) – The satellite separated from the rocket and went into orbit at about 10.47 p.m. local time on Tuesday (01:47 GMT on Wednesday).
“#Arianespace orbits #METOPC in its third successful launch for @EUMETSAT’s Metop meteorological satellite program,” it said on Twitter.
MetOp-C is the third and last satellite of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). MetOp satellites are needed to predict weather for the period from 12 hours to 10 days.
The first and second satellites of this series, MetOp-A and MetOp-B, were launched in 2006 and 2012, respectively.
Both “meteorological stations” have been successfully operating in orbit since their launches and make a large contribution to reducing errors in weather forecasts. MetOp-C is expected to further improve the quality of weather forecasts.
WATCH: Soyuz-ST With MetOp-C Satellite Blasts Off From Guiana Space Port
Sourse: sputniknews.com
