A series of three satellites to be launched over 14 years that will supply data for operational meteorology. The first, MetOp-A, was launched on 19 October 2006, MetOp-B on 17 September 2012, both from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, into a near-circular, Sun-synchronous polar orbit at a mean altitude of 817 km. MetOp-C is scheduled for launch in November 2018, from Kourou, French Guiana. A fourth satellite, MetOp-SG (second generation), is planned to replace the first generation satellites between 2021 and 2023.