Metop is the space segment of the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS), which provides real-time data to several European meteorological services as well as to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other international agencies. The third Metop satellite, Metop-C, was launched on 7 November 2018 and shall enter in operations in few months, once the on-going commissioning of the meteorological products is completed. Each Metop satellite was designed to operate at least five years. A sequential deployment of the satellites was foreseen to achieve the target mission duration of 15 years, replacing an old one at end of life with a newer one; thanks to the excellent performances of the launchers and of the platform itself, and to continuous improvements to the fuel management, it was possible to extend the operational life of each satellite by a factor of three, still maintaining enough fuel to perform safe de-orbiting operations (foreseen for Metop-A, launched in 2006, at the end of 2021). This provided the opportunity to develop in 2012 (after Metop-B launch) dual-satellite products, which now, with the arrival of Metop-C, can evolve to tri-satellite; several decisions, concerning the selection of launch date and time as well as commissioning and operational locations, had to be been taken to achieve the target configuration; the analyses leading to these decisions are discussed here.

中文翻译：

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Metop-C部署并开始三颗卫星运行

Metop 是 EUMETSAT 极地系统 (EPS) 的空间部分，它为多个欧洲气象部门以及美国国家海洋和大气管理局 (NOAA) 和其他国际机构提供实时数据。第三颗 Metop 卫星 Metop-C 于 2018 年 11 月 7 日发射，一旦气象产品的持续调试完成，将在几个月内投入运行。每颗 Metop 卫星的设计运行时间至少为五年。预计将依次部署卫星以实现 15 年的目标任务持续时间，用更新的卫星替换寿命结束的旧卫星；由于发射器和平台本身的出色性能，以及燃料管理的不断改进，有可能将每颗卫星的运行寿命延长三倍，同时仍保持足够的燃料来执行安全的离轨操作（预计于 2006 年发射的 Metop-A，2021 年底）。这为 2012 年（Metop-B 发射后）开发双星产品提供了机会，现在随着 Metop-C 的到来，可以发展为三星；必须就发射日期和时间的选择以及试运行和运行地点作出若干决定，以实现目标配置；此处讨论导致这些决定的分析。这为 2012 年（Metop-B 发射后）开发双星产品提供了机会，现在随着 Metop-C 的到来，可以发展为三星；必须就发射日期和时间的选择以及试运行和运行地点作出若干决定，以实现目标配置；此处讨论导致这些决定的分析。这为 2012 年（Metop-B 发射后）开发双星产品提供了机会，现在随着 Metop-C 的到来，可以发展为三星；必须就发射日期和时间的选择以及试运行和运行地点作出若干决定，以实现目标配置；此处讨论导致这些决定的分析。