Arianespace will fly its first Ariane 6 mission to geostationary orbit on August 27, 2026, lofting the second Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I2) for EUMETSAT and the European Space Agency from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
Ariane 62's First GTO Mission
The launch — designated VA270 — will be Ariane 6's ninth flight overall, the sixth flight of the two-booster Ariane 62 variant and Arianespace's fourth launch of 2026. It will last roughly 36 minutes from lift-off to satellite separation.
Meteosat Third Generation and Rapid-Scan Weather Cover
MTG-I2 is the second imaging satellite in what EUMETSAT calls the most powerful geostationary weather constellation in the world. From 36,000 km altitude it will provide rapid-scan service over Europe every 2.5 minutes, pairing with MTG-I1 (Meteosat-12), already on orbit. The MTG fleet, developed by ESA to EUMETSAT requirements, is built by a consortium led by Thales Alenia Space with OHB System of Germany and Leonardo of Italy.
Continuing Europe's Sovereign Access to Space
The mission underlines Arianespace's role as Europe's sovereign launch provider for weather and climate infrastructure — a strategic priority reiterated at Paris Air Show 2025. See our coverage of related European launch activity in Rocket Lab's German expansion and SpaceX's Falcon 9 cadence.
Reporting based on coverage from the Arianespace Newsroom.