EUMETSAT: Europe’s First Geostationary Sounder Satellite Is Launched

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EUMETSAT: Europe’s First Geostationary Sounder Satellite Is Launched

2025-07-02 19:20 Last Updated At：19:30

DARMSTADT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 2, 2025--

Europe has taken a major step forward in strengthening its resilience to extreme weather events with the successful launch of the Meteosat Third Generation Sounder 1 (MTG-S1) satellite. MTG-S1 will deliver new streams of atmospheric data, enabling earlier, more accurate warnings that protect lives, property and infrastructure.

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Extreme weather events like storms, flooding, and heatwaves have caused hundreds of billions of euros in damage and claimed tens of thousands of lives across Europe in the past decades. Launched on 1 July 2025, MTG-S1 will provide Europe’s national meteorological services with high-frequency data on temperature, humidity and trace gases throughout the atmosphere – enabling forecasters to detect the earliest signs of severe weather, extend the lead times of weather warnings, improve forecasting, and help protect lives and property.

Phil Evans, Director-General of EUMETSAT, said: “MTG-S1 will provide entirely new types of data products that will support specialists across EUMETSAT member states in detecting signs of atmospheric instability even before clouds begin to form. Combined with data from the MTG imaging satellites, it will, for the first time, offer a space-based view of the full lifecycle of convective storms. This will provide tremendous support to national meteorological services in carrying out their vital work, helping to save lives, reduce disruption, and strengthen resilience.

“The effects of the climate crisis are not distant threats: they are already being felt across Europe – through more frequent storms, longer heatwaves, and shifting climate patterns. MTG-S1 will support more timely warnings, safer travel decisions, more effective emergency response, and support informed action.

“My sincere thanks go to everyone who made MTG-S1 possible – our teams at EUMETSAT, our member states, the European Union, the European Space Agency, national meteorological services, and all our industrial and academic partners. This successful launch is a testament to the strength of European cooperation. We now look forward to moving to the next phases and preparing the satellite for full operations.”

A forecasting revolution

MTG-S1 is the first geostationary meteorological sounder satellite to fly over Europe and carries two key missions: the Infrared Sounder and the European Union’s Copernicus Sentinel-4 Ultraviolet Visible Near-infrared spectrometer.

Applause broke out at EUMETSAT headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, as staff, guests, and media watched a live stream of the satellite separating from its launcher and continuing its journey into orbit. Tension turned to celebration as confirmation arrived that the satellite had contacted ground control, deployed its solar panels, and was on course for geostationary orbit – some 36,000 km above the equator.

With power and communications established, MTG-S1 entered its Launch and Early Operations Phase, during which engineers are activating systems and guiding it to its geostationary orbital position. From this position, aligned with Earth’s rotation, MTG-S1 will maintain an uninterrupted view of Europe, Africa, and surrounding regions.

MTG-S1’s Infrared Sounder will scan nearly 2,000 thermal infrared wavelengths every 30 minutes to build vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, and trace gases. These data will be crucial for detecting fast-developing convective weather by revealing sudden shifts in instability, moisture, or wind – even before clouds begin to form.

Combined with imagery from MTG’s imager satellites, it will offer a continuous view of a storm’s full life cycle, from early instability through to lightning and dissipation. The observations made by MTG-S1 will also enhance very-short-range forecasts called nowcasts, daily forecasts, improve models linking weather, air quality, and climate, and support long-term climate monitoring.

The Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission is expected to provide hourly data on pollutants and aerosols – including from wildfires and volcanic eruptions – that will enable specialists to monitor emissions, enhance air quality forecasts, support public health and environmental policy. Copernicus is the Earth Observation component of the European Union Space Programme.

Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at ESA, said: “These two groundbreaking missions are set to change the way we forecast both severe weather and the quality of air over Europe. It is thanks to the outstanding work our teams have done with EUMETSAT, the European Commission and dozens of European industry partners, that we are able to now look forward to more accurate and timely ways of predicting storm events and air pollution.”

Christoph Kautz, Director for Space Policy, Earth Observation and Satellite Navigation at the European Commission said: “I warmly congratulate everyone involved in the launch of MTG-S1 and Copernicus Sentinel-4, which will vastly enhance Europe’s ability to monitor the atmosphere from space. This achievement is a powerful example of how European cooperation can provide vital data in support of services such as the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service that protect public health, strengthen environmental monitoring, and improve lives across Europe.”

For further updates on MTG-S1, visit EUMETSAT’s launch hub, which features news, interviews, and insights into the satellite’s journey.

Find all relevant information, biographies of speakers, videos and testimonials on our dedicated press page.

For more information, see the EUMETSAT website.

Buddhist monks and their dog captivate Americans while walking for peace

A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.

In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.

Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.

“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.

Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.

At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.

“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”

Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.

Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.

This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.

Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.

“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.

The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.

Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.

“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”

In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.

He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.

“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”

After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.

“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.

Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.

“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.

But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.

The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.

Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.

Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.

“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”

On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.

“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”

Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.

“Today is my peaceful day.”

Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.