The European Space Agency (ESA) has reportedly won the contract to build Europe's next generation polar-orbiting meteorological satellites. According to Space News, Airbus Defence and Space was selected over a team consisting of Thales Alenia and OHB AG. Final confirmation of the selection is expected to come from ESA's Industrial Policy Committee on April 11.

ESA, which consists of 20 member states, has budgeted the equivalent of $1.1 billion for its share of the Metop 2nd Generation Program, in order to cover the costs of building the first pair of Metop-SG satellites.

Launch is expected around 2021. EUMETSAT, (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) has separately tentatively budgeted $4.1 billion for the remaining Metop-SG costs. This includes the construction and launch of one or two additional pairs of satellites and ground network and operational costs for 20 years.

The MetOp-SG award was delayed by ESA last fall, apparently due to the embarrassment caused when its flagship environmental satellite (Envisat) died in orbit and became a long-term debris threat with a century as its estimated decay time.

According to Space News, over the past six months the two satellite bidders had to make design modifications in order to incorporate the ability to de-orbit over the Pacific Ocean upon retirement. These changes include the integration of larger fuel tanks, which is considered a small price for leaving popular orbits a little less cluttered and reducing the possibility of debris falling on populated areas.

ESA's 8,000-kilogram, 8-meter-tall Envisat, failed suddenly in 2012 at an altitude of about 768 kilometers. This spacecraft was loaded with fragile observing instruments that could shatter on impact with even tiny pieces of debris. Thus, it is considered an especially dangerous addition to the orbital population.

Many years ago the US took on a complex polar-orbiting meteorological satellite program, called National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). This was to be the next-generation US satellite system that would monitor global weather, atmosphere, oceans, land and near-space environment.

NPOESS satellites will host proven technologies and operational versions of sensors currently under operational-prototyping by NASA. There have been several delays and program changes over the past decade. The estimated launch date for the first such satellite is now 2017.

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