Overview[]
The Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) came into being on September 19, 1972, when representatives of the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) (since 1975 called the European Space Agency, ESA), Japan, the United States of America, Observers from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the Joint Planning Staff for the Global Atmosphere Research Programme met in Washington to discuss questions of compatibility among geostationary meteorological satellites. EUMETSAT has run the Secretariat since 1987.
CGMS provides an international forum for the exchange of technical information on geostationary and polar orbiting meteorological satellite systems. It consists of 15 member organisations andsix observers. For full details of CGMS objectives, activities, membership, CGMS publications and meetings please visit the dedicated CGMS website.
CGMS is behind a number of initiatives, including the Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS), the Sustained, Coordinated Processing of Environmental Satellite Data for Climate Monitoring (SCOPE-CM) and Virtual Laboratory.