Approximately 61 billion euros a year in benefits thanks to satellite weather data: this is the estimate by the European Space Agency (ESA) of the benefits obtained in various sectors, from transport to agriculture, from meteorological space missions such as Third Generation Meteosat (MTG), scheduled to launch on 13 December from French Guiana. «Today 96% of the data used for weather forecasts in Europe are made through satellite data and it is estimated in 61 billion euros the benefit of satellite data for forecasts in various sectors a year, from agriculture to travel», explained Simonetta Cheli, director of ESA’s earth observation programs, a guest at Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre. It is from here that the launch and putting into orbit of the first of six Mtg satellites will be controlled.
“Numbers and estimates – added Paolo Ruti, scientific director of Eumetsat – must make us understand how missions to improve the capacity of meteorological forecasting, such as Mtg, cannot be considered a cost but an investment”.
Developed by Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), in collaboration with OHB, the first Mtg to be placed in orbit will improve the ability to observe weather phenomena with a resolution up to 0.5 kilometers it’s a full picture of Europe every 2.5 minutes. “Thanks to these new data we will have more advanced capabilities to improve observations and forecasts in a very short time, the so-called nowcastig – explained Silvia Puca, of the Civil Protection Department – and be able to identify actions more quickly to safeguard citizens” .
In this context, a fundamental contribution will be made in particular by the “lightning hunter” on board the satellite, an instrument unique in the world for its performance and created by Leonardo which will make it possible to observe for the first time a large part of lightning even inside the clouds, almost impossible at land bases, which represent essential indicators for understanding the evolution and danger of thunderstorms.