Meteosat first generation: Laying the foundations of the European geostationary meteorological satellite system

This paper provides a history of salient points of the evolution of the European geostationary satellite programme Meteosat from its inception in the early 1970s until the end of satellite operations at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) of ESA (European Space Agency). This happened in 1995 when the Meteosat operations were handed over to EUMETSAT. Specific to this paper is that key technical aspects of the operational Meteosat suite are described. Also recalled are scientific achievements in image processing, real-time calibration, and for operational products. We also recall some stories around the water vapour (WV) channel which Meteosat First Generation was the first geostationary meteorological satellite to feature. Examples of international cooperation are given which advanced the use of Meteosat data. Overall, achievements with the first Meteosat generation laid the foundation for the successful operational European Meteosat programmes which have recently entered into their third generation. Foreword: Readers may ask what is unique about this paper? This paper goes beyond telling the Meteosat history by recalling high-level decisions taken by delegate bodies of member states. The authors describe technical and scientific aspects which led to the ‘sought-after’ quantitative utilisation of the early Meteosat satellites. The group of authors covers relevant perspectives because of their in-depth involvement during the time covered by this paper. The authors had the following positions: Johannes (Han) de Waard was the Head of the Meteosat Exploitation Project (MEP) at ESOC; Tillmann Mohr was Head of the German delegation for the Meteosat Programme at ESA, Chairman of the Programme Board Operational Meteosat (1983–1986) and Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee of EUMETSAT; later in 1995, he became the second Director-General of EUMETSAT; Frank Diekmann was the image engineer in MEP at ESOC; Paul Menzel was a senior scientist at NOAA NESDIS and an important counterpart for the cooperation with NOAA; Johannes Schmetz was at that time Senior Scientist in MEP at ESA/ESOC.