Flight VA264 | Metop-SGA1 | Ariane 6 I Arianespace

Summary:
00:00:00 Start of the livestream
00:02:19 Road to Space Intro
00:06:27 Mission Status Update with David Cavaillolès, CEO Arianespace
00:08:40 Key Phases of the VA264 Flight
00:12:06 What About METOP-SGA1
00:21:55 VA264 Launch Campaign
00:29:56 Ariane 6 Liftoff
00:34:58 METOP-SGA1 instruments
00:40:27 Why do we need rockets?
00:46:18 ITW with Dr. Laurence Rouil, Director for the Copernicus Atmosphere service, ECMWF
00:52:48 ITW with Didier Martin, Sentinel 4&5 Project Manager, ESA
00:58:19 ITW with Philippe Clar, Space Transportation Programmes Director, ArianeGroup
01:26:45 ITW with Phil Evans, Director General, Eumetsat
01:34:57 METOP-SGA1 Separation
01:36:18 Mission success confirmation by David Cavaillolès , CEO Arianespace
01:38:02 Closing remarks from Andrius Kubilius, European Commissioner for Defence and Space, EC
01:40:30 Closing remarks from Phil Evans, Director General, Eumetsat
01:42:20 Closing remarks from Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes, ESA
01:44:47 Closing remarks from Rüdiger Hartwich, Head of Institutional and German Programmes, Airbus
01:48:04 End of Program

On August 12, 2025 at 9:37 p.m. local time in Kourou, French Guiana (00:37 a.m. UTC, 2:37 a.m. CEST, on August 13), Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe's Spaceport carrying EUMETSAT's Metop-SGA1 satellite.

With this second commercial flight, Ariane 6, the new European heavy-lift launcher operated by Arianespace, successfully placed Metop-SGA1 into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 800 km. Spacecraft separation occurred 1 hour and 4 minutes after lift-off.

A few minutes after separation, EUMETSAT successfully acquired signals from the satellite.

David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace, declared: “Tonight, Arianespace has successfully launched EUMETSAT's Metop-SGA1 satellite, on board Ariane 6. The first of the next generation of European polar-orbiting weather satellites, Metop-SGA1 notably hosts the Copernicus programme Sentinel-5 atmospheric monitoring mission. This success pinpoints our dedication to ensuring Europe's autonomous and reliable access to space while also supporting an ambitious environmental mission that will provide cutting-edge data for weather and climate monitoring. Ariane 6's second commercial launch marks a significant milestone in our journey. We extend our gratitude to EUMETSAT and to all our partners across Europe for their trust and collaboration, driving Arianespace to deliver the utmost excellence.”

"The success of this second commercial launch confirms the performance, reliability, and precision of Ariane 6. Once again, the new European heavy-lift launcher meets Europe's needs, ensuring sovereign access to space," said Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup. "The next rockets are well advanced in production thanks to the teams to whom I express my gratitude for their unwavering commitment. This demonstrates the ramp up taking place in ArianeGroup's plants and those of our industrial partners."

Phil Evans, Director-General of EUMETSAT, commented: “Extreme weather has cost Europe hundreds of billions of euros and tens of thousands of lives over the past 40 years—storms like Boris, Daniel and Hans, record heatwaves and fierce wildfires are just the latest reminders. The launch of Metop-SGA1 is a major step forward in giving national weather services in our member states sharper tools to save lives, protect property, and build resilience against the climate crisis. These positive impacts will be felt even beyond that and over the Atlantic, as Metop-SGA1 is Europe's first contribution to the Joint Polar System with NOAA. This milestone reflects years of teamwork across EUMETSAT, ESA, the EU, CNES, DLR, Airbus, Thales Alenia Space, and many others. This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter as we work to ensure the satellite settles into orbit and starts delivering the vital data it was built to provide.”

For this second commercial mission, the Ariane 6 vehicle was in the two-booster Ariane 62 configuration with a short fairing.


The VA264 launch at a glance:

355th launch by Arianespace
3rd Ariane 6 launch and 2nd commercial flight
15th satellite launched by Arianespace for EUMETSAT
151st spacecraft built by Airbus Defence and Space launched by Arianespace
21st meteorological satellite launched by Arianespace