Ariane 6 Set to Launch MTG-I2 Weather Satellite, Completing European Network

Europe's Ariane 6 rocket is scheduled to launch the MTG-I2 weather satellite from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, during a two-and-a-half-hour launch window opening at 4:10 p.m. EDT (2010 GMT) on 27 August 2026. The mission is operated by Arianespace, the French company that runs the Ariane 6.

MTG-I2 weighs about 8,400 pounds (3,800 kilograms) and is the second imaging satellite in the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) network. Its launch completes a three-spacecraft network in geostationary orbit, roughly 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth, alongside the imaging satellite MTG-I1, launched in December 2022, and the sounder satellite MTS-S1, which uses an infrared instrument to probe different layers of Earth's atmosphere and launched in July 2025. The network is operated by EUMETSAT, an international meteorological organisation based in Germany.

Arianespace describes the MTG system as part of a new generation of geostationary satellites that provide imagery for the early detection of fast-developing severe storms, weather forecasting and climate monitoring. According to the company, the data will be used to help aircraft avoid storms, give earlier warnings of flooding, and allow more precise monitoring of fires and fog.

The launch will be the ninth for the Ariane 6, which debuted in July 2024. In its most powerful configuration, the rocket can deliver up to 12.7 tons (11.5 metric tons) to geostationary transfer orbit, compared with 9.15 tons (8.3 metric tons) for SpaceX's Falcon 9. The Ariane 6 last flew in June, when it carried 36 of Amazon's broadband satellites to low Earth orbit.

If the launch goes as planned, the Ariane 6 will release MTG-I2 into geostationary transfer orbit 36 minutes after liftoff.