Esa-Mission: satellite Metop-C is to improve weather forecast

He can't make the weather better, but at least the predictions. The European weather satellite "Metop-C" to start on Wednesday. From its orbit at 817 km altitude, he will make together with "Metop-A and Metop-B" to Esa-information more accurate forecasts possible.

Dieter Klaes from the European weather satellite organization, Eumetsat expects that the spacecraft will be three years old to third in the All.

"Metop-A" - at its launch in 2006, Europe's first operational polar orbiting weather satellite is now more than twice as long in space as originally planned. "2021/22 he is taken probably from the operation," says Klaes. "Metop-B", show no signs of fatigue. We hope that he lasts as long." The number two was shot almost exactly six years ago.

More than 90 percent of the measurement originated data for the weather forecasts now available from satellites, says Klaes. "Metop-A" and "B" reduced the error in the prediction of all observations, now about 27 percent. How much smaller is the error, thanks to "Metop-C" needs to be seen.

"Metop-C" to take off at 1.47 PM (CET) from Europe's spaceport in Kourou with a Soyuz rocket. The failed launch of the Russian Soyuz rocket at 11. February in Baikonur (Kazakhstan) have no effect on it, says Klaes. The launch of the European space operations centre Esoc controls in Darmstadt, probably after three days, it then passes control to the adjacent Eumetsat Headquarters.

The three, respectively four-and-a-ton "Metop"-missiles are identical in construction. "But they are still at the height of the time, we can keep up with everything that is new," stresses Klaes. The Trio flies into uniform intervals of 120 degrees in its orbit. The total Trbet orbital period of each of the three satellites is a little more than 101 minutes. "Everyone will circle the earth 14 times per day and each point of the planet twice a day," says Klaes. "Thus, we will receive over a period of three years, six times a day, a complete global picture of each of the instruments on Board." The data also provide a good basis for the climate research series.

The nine instruments on Board of the "Metop-C" measure the temperature and the humidity, the composition of the atmosphere and the sea surface temperature. Also wind strength, direction and speed at the sea surface to capture the devices, and also properties of clouds, the water content of the soil and particle modeling in space, as the experts explain. New about a so-called Ice-Cloud Imager that can better determine whether water or Eisbröckchen be in the clouds, Asmus says. Also, Cirrus clouds (ice clouds) could examine the device better. The resolution of the images is also higher.

The data will be used mainly for numerical weather prediction - for complex, with computers models created. It is a question of weather forecasts up to ten days to say the twelve hours. The measured values were used to extreme weather conditions in the short term. Air quality, ozone levels and other climate data records "Metop-C" also.

joe/dpa