Posted: Sun, Aug 30, 2026, 8:16 PM ET (0016 GMT)
An Ariane 6 launched a European weather satellite Thursday. An Ariane 62 lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana, at 4:11 pm EDT (2011 GMT), deploying the MTG-I2 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit 36 minutes later. MTG-I2 is the third satellite in the Meteosat Third Generation program developed by ESA and Eumetsat, and will provide images of Europe and North Africa every 2.5 minutes to aid weather forecasting. The launch was the fourth of an Ariane 6 so far this year, and at a prelaunch briefing last week an Arianespace executive said the company still expected to perform seven to eight launches this year.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Space.com article
•  ESA press release
•  Arianespace press release