Watch live: MTG-I2 set for liftoff

MTG-I2, the third satellite in the Meteosat Third Generation constellation, is scheduled to lift off on flight VA270 aboard an Ariane 6 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on Thursday, 27 August. The launch will complete the first family of MTG satellites, which will deliver weather forecasting data over Europe and northern Africa in unprecedented detail. Live coverage begins at 21:42 CEST on ESA WebTV and ESA's YouTube channel, with liftoff expected at 22:10 CEST (17:10 local time); the launch window lasts 2.5 hours.

The MTG-I2 satellite carries two instruments. The Lightning Imager provides completely new capabilities for European meteorological satellites by continuously monitoring lightning, while the Flexible Combined Imager tracks fast-evolving weather systems to issue timely warnings. From its geostationary position 36,000 km above the equator, the Flexible Combined Imager can scan the entire Earth-facing surface in 10 minutes and Europe and North Africa every 2.5 minutes, providing data products and capabilities especially suited to nowcasting severe weather.

This will be the ninth launch of Europe's Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket. With two P120C solid-propellant rocket motors, Ariane 6 will send MTG-I2 to a geostationary transfer orbit — the first mission to this destination for Ariane 6 and the farthest it will have flown. ESA manages the Ariane 6 development programme, providing autonomous access to space for European citizens, while Arianespace serves as launch service provider for VA270.

The live broadcast schedule includes booster separation at 22:12, fairing jettison at 22:13, main stage shutdown and separation at 22:17, followed by the Vinci upper stage engine firing, with the engine stopping at 22:31 and MTG-I2 separation and signal acquisition expected at 22:46.