Media invitation: MTG-I2 launch event at ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands

During the evening, journalists will have the opportunity to attend a live stage show including mission experts from various partner organisations, watch the live retransmission of the launch from Europe's Spaceport and interview senior experts present.

About MTG-I2

MTG-I2 is the third satellite to join the MTG constellation for Eumetsat - the first MTG-Imager and the MTG-Sounder are already in orbit. The mission is designed to produce data and images for weather forecasting and climate monitoring in Europe and North Africa with unprecedented detail. This means a significant increase in quality, quantity and frequency of data, enabling forecasters to access new data products and services. The data enable the nowcasting of severe weather events and improved numerical weather prediction.

Media programme at ESTEC:

19:00 - Arrival at ESTEC gatehouse

20:00 - 20:45 Official welcome and live stage programme, including experts from ESA, Eumetsat and user communities

20:45 - Interview opportunities with speakers listed below

21:40 - Start of the Arianespace livestream

22:10 - Lift-off

22:57 - Success statements and closing of the programme. Interview opportunities post-launch.

23:30 - End of media activities

Please note that the launch schedule may be subject to last-minute changes or delays due to unforeseen circumstances.

Key spokespeople available on site for interviews include:

• ESA ESTEC Head or Deputy head of establishment
• Eleni Paliouras, ESA Head of the EO strategy and coordination office
• Thomas August, ESA atmospheric scientist
• Joachim Saalmueller, Eumetsat Head of User Support & Climate Services
• Maarten Van Aalst, Director-general, KNMI (Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut)
• Tobias Guggenmoser, ESA MTG instrument performance and commissioning engineer
• Alessandro Burini, Euumetsat Remote Sensing Scientist - Optical Imagery
• Paul Blythe, former ESA MTG programme manager
• Donny Aminou, former ESA MTG payload product manager
• Fausto Roveda, Eumetsat Ground Segment Manager in GEO Programmes
• Graziano Mori, Eumetsat Director Technical & Scientific Support

Mandatory media registration

Interested journalists are kindly requested to register by Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 17:00 CEST via ESA's media accreditation form. Please also indicate any interview preferences so we can do our best to accommodate them.

Images

ESA's Photo Library for Professionals: https://www.esa-photolibrary.com/

Terms and conditions for using ESA images: www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

For questions or more information related to ESA images, please contact directly [email protected]

Videos

ESA's Video Library for Professionals: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos

Terms and conditions for using ESA video: www.esa.int/spaceinimages/ESA_Multimedia/Copyright_Notice_Images

For questions or more information related to ESA videos, please contact directly [email protected]

About the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) provides Europe's gateway to space.

ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

ESA has 23 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are Associate Members.

ESA has established formal cooperation with three Member States of the EU. Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement.

By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions.

Learn more about ESA at www.esa.int.