European Weather Satellite Pencilled For New Launch Bid

The European weather satellite MetOp-A, stuck on the Russian launch pad in Kazahkstan since July, should be launched on Thursday, launch operator Starsem said.

By Space War Editorial Team · Editorial process

Published October 17, 2006

The European weather satellite MetOp-A, stuck on the Russian launch pad in Kazahkstan since July, should be launched on Thursday, launch operator Starsem said. The 4.1-tonne satellite was to have taken aloft on July 17 by a Soyuz-Fregat rocket, but the operation has been postponed five times by technical hitches and, on Wednesday, by bad weather.

Thursday's launch at Baikonur, Kazakhstan, will take place at 1628 GMT on Thursday, Starsem said Wednesday.

MetOp-A is billed as the most sophisticated Earth observation satellite ever built, with instruments to record temperature, humidity, wind speed and ozone cover across the globe, as well as monitor the environment in space.

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