![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2018\/07\/testing_mtg_s_fci_instrument\/17577369-1-eng-GB\/Testing_MTG_s_FCI_instrument_small.jpg\")
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\nA test model of the main imager for Europe\u2019s forthcoming Meteosat Third Generation weather satellite being lifted towards Europe\u2019s largest vacuum chamber for simulated space testing.\n<\/p>\n
\nDeveloped by Thales Alenia Space, this is a \u2018structural and thermal model\u2019 test version of the mammoth Flexible Combined Instrument, which will provide state of the art measurements of Earth\u2019s atmosphere across 16 visible and infrared channels.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe flight version of this instrument will serve aboard the Meteosat Third Generation<\/a>-series of imaging satellites, dubbed MTG-I. Developed in conjunction with Eumetsat<\/a>, Europe\u2019s weather satellite organization, these satellites will be accompanied by additional MTG \u2018sounding\u2019 satellites in geostationary orbit to provide simultaneous vertical profiles of the atmosphere.\n<\/p>\n \nSome 15 m high and 10 m in diameter, the Large Space Simulator<\/a> \u2013 located at ESA\u2019s ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands \u2013 is cavernous enough to accommodate an upended double decker bus. Once the top and side hatches are sealed, high-performance pumps create a vacuum a billion times less dense than standard sea-level atmosphere, and this is held for weeks at a time during test runs. A Sun simulator shines intense light on the test item at the same time that liquid nitrogen is pumped through the walls to recreate the cold of space in the shade.\n<\/p>\n \nSee a slideshow of FCI test images here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \nA test model of the main imager for Europe’s forthcoming Meteosat Third Generation weather satellite being lifted towards Europe’s largest vacuum chamber for simulated space testing.\n<\/p>\n \nDeveloped by Thales Alenia Space, this is a ‘structural and thermal model’ test version of the mammoth Flexible Combined Instrument, which will provide state of the art measurements of Earth’s atmosphere across 16 visible and infrared channels.\n<\/p>\n \nThe flight version of this instrument will serve aboard the Meteosat Third Generation<\/a>-series of imaging satellites, dubbed MTG-I. Developed in conjunction with Eumetsat<\/a>, Europe’s weather satellite organization, these satellites will be accompanied by additional MTG ‘sounding’ satellites in geostationary orbit to provide simultaneous vertical profiles of the atmosphere.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n