Meteosat. Technicians working on the Meteosat 6 weather satellite at the Aerospatiale test facility in Toulouse, France. Launched on 20 November 1993, Meteosat 6 has a three-channel scanner (behind oval door): one channel for visible light, one in thermal infrared, and one in water vapour infrared. A full-disc image of the Earth at each waveband is returned every 30 minutes from its geostationary orbit. As well as direct monitoring of weather patterns, Meteosat 6 operates as a data relay, transmitting weather data to locations in Africa and the Middle East. Meteosat 6 is also known as MOP-3, third of the Meteosat Operational Programme satellites.