The MSG-4 team at ESA are getting ready for launch, too! Lift-off is set for early July, and the satellite will be seen through its critical launch and early orbit phase by a team of engineers at ESOC, who will then hand the mission over to Eumetsat for routine operations.

And here are a couple of highly unofficial photos! ESA’s Jutta Huber writes:

The MSG-4 LEOP team at ESOC are deep into preparatory training and were able to arrange a visit to the Thales site in Cannes to view the last MSG spacecraft in its final integration and test phase. The team garnered a real sense of the true complexity of the spacecraft they will be controlling through the initial 12 days of its mission, and the trip cemented the connection the team have developed to this fourth-in-the-series spacecraft due for launch on a summer Ariane-5 launch.

The team from ESOC travelled to Cannes at their own expense to view ‘their’ satellite, and to view first-hand the incredible proficiency that goes into manufacturing one of these complex imaging devices.

ESA's MSG-4 launch team in Cannes Credit: ESA/TAS-F

ESA’s MSG-4 launch team in Cannes Credit: ESA/TAS-F

ESA's MSG-4 launch team in Cannes

ESA’s MSG-4 launch team in Cannes