Meteosat-1
Meteosat-1 was Europe’s first geostationary meteorological satellite and ESA’s first Earth-observation mission. Launched on 1977-11-23, it provided continuous full-disc imagery for weather forecasting over Europe, Africa, and adjacent ocean regions before its retirement on 1979-11-25.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Meteosat 1Meteosat-A
- Name
- Meteosat-1
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- Meteosat-1 was Europe’s first geostationary meteorological satellite and ESA’s first Earth-observation mission. Launched on 1977-11-23, it provided continuous full-disc imagery for weather forecasting over Europe, Africa, and adjacent ocean regions before its retirement on 1979-11-25.
- Destination
- Geostationary Earth orbit at approximately 36,000 km altitude for continuous full-disc weather imaging over Europe, Africa, and adjacent Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions
- End Date
- 1979-11-25
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Meteosat-1's geostationary position at 0° longitude provided a permanent view over most of Europe, all of Africa, the Middle East, and eastern South America—more than 100 countries. ESA records that the mission supplied data to NOAA, while EUMETSAT's history credits the first Meteosat prototype with proving the viability and value of satellite weather observations for operational services.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 1977-11-23
- Vehicle Families
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 15, 2026 at 06:49:42 UTC
- Updated Time
- September 8, 2026 at 12:33:55 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles