On 25 June, with just a few days to go before scheduled launch, the Meteosat Third Generation Sounder (MTG-S1) satellite, that is hosting the instrument for the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission, was ready to be placed inside the launch rocket.
This is the last time the satellite engineers have hands-on manual control of the MTG-S1 satellite – and is the last time the team will see the satellite and instruments that have taken years of planning, design and testing. Mating and encapsulation are the final phases of activity before launch. During these activities, the satellite keeps its solar arrays in a folded position like a moth inside its cocoon.
Once the satellite is attached to its flight adaptor, it is encapsulated inside the tip of the rocket, known as the fairing, where the cone-shaped structure provides a protective case during the initial phase of the launch ascent. This encapsulated assembly, with the MTG-S1 satellite inside, is then mated with the rocket after its transportation to the hangar at the launch pad.
Read full story: MTG-S1 satellite hosting the Sentinel-4 instrument is ready for liftoff