MSG 3, the third of the Second Generation Meteosat satellites, is currently being prepared for its scheduled launch by Ariane 5 next June. International partners are looking forward to the newest member in a series of weather satellites that deliver images to European forecasters. MSG satellites are designed to improve weather prediction abilities. The first in the series was launched in 2002, MSG-2 followed three years later. Both have been successful in continuing the legacy of operational meteorological satellites that started with Meteosat-1 in 1977. The series returns highly detailed imagery of Europe, the North Atlantic and Africa every 15 minutes for use by meteorologists and national weather forecasters.

More background information can be found on: http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMLFM2VQUD_index_0_m.html