Several improvements, namely an enhanced platform, an ameliorated on-board recording capability, a better communication system and a greater payload capability, will ensure that the MetOp satellites offer a better performance than the current NOAA system does. It has been designed to be compatible with launch on Ariane 5, being very likely that it shares launches with SPOT-5, the French Earth Observation satellite. Together, the operation of the three satellites in the series should span a period of at least 14 years, with each having an expected life time of 5 years.
Several instruments are currently under consideration for the baseline configuration.
The table lists the payload instruments and identifies their main parameters, as well as the source of funding. Data will be continuously recorded on board using solid-state storage technology. It will be dumped to the X-band acquisition stations once per orbit for further processing and then disseminated to users within three hours. This will allow global coverage to be completed every one to three days, depending on the instrument's swath. The envisaged mission is expected to fulfill the European requirements for operational meteorology and climate monitoring, while allowing European scientists to continue and enlarge their research in many areas of the Earth Sciences.