Metop-B

Metop-B is the second satellite of EUMETSAT’s first-generation Polar System, launched on 17 September 2012. It became the primary Metop platform on 24 April 2013, contributing atmospheric soundings, imagery, ocean winds and atmospheric-composition observations to weather forecasting and climate monitoring. Its payload combines IASI infrared spectra, GRAS radio occultation, ASCAT scatterometry, GOME-2 spectroscopy and heritage meteorological sensors. The spacecraft remains operational, but individual instruments have different histories: HIRS/4 stopped working in March 2023 and was permanently deactivated in January 2025, while several other channels have degraded. Operational spacecraft status therefore does not imply full performance from every original instrument.