Europe's first polar-orbiting meteorological satellite, Metop-1, is scheduled to be shipped to the Russian-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan April 17 where it will be integrated into a Soyuz launch vehicle with a newly designed payload fairing. The launch is scheduled for June 30. Three nearly identical Metop satellites are being built here by EADS Astrium. The satellites are part of a 14-year operational meteorological program managed by the 19-nation Eumetsat organization of Darmstadt, Germany, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA).
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