# Flexible Combined Imager (FCI)
*sensor . products*

Meteosat Third Generation imaging payload providing 16-channel geostationary full-disc and rapid-scan imagery.

## Specifications
- **manufacturer**: thales-alenia-space
- **deployment context**: orbital
- **product status**: operational
- **sensor**: {"instrument_family":"passive-optical","measurement_principle":"passive","spectral_band_count":16,"spec_disclosure":"disclosed"}
- **entity type**: sensor
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-16
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: thales-alenia-space
- **attributes**: {"kind":"sensor","manufacturer":"thales-alenia-space","description":"Meteosat Third Generation imaging payload providing 16-channel geostationary full-disc and rapid-scan imagery.","deployment_context":"orbital","product_status":"operational","sensor":"{\"instrument_family\":\"passive-optical\",\"measurement_principle\":\"passive\",\"spectral_band_count\":16,\"spec_disclosure\":\"disclosed\"}"}

## Editorial
Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) is the Meteosat Third Generation imaging payload for geostationary passive-optical observation, with a 16-channel visible and infrared observing set for full-disc and rapid-scan meteorology.[^eumetsat-mtg-instruments][^esa-fci] Its documented imaging cadences are 10 minutes for full-disc coverage and 2.5 minutes for European rapid imagery, with 1-2 km nominal resolution and a 0.5 km high-resolution mode on selected channels.[^eumetsat-mtg-instruments][^mtg-fci-guide][^esa-fci] The instrument is operational on Meteosat-12 and supports cloud, surface and thermal scene monitoring from geostationary orbit through repeated visible and infrared imagery.[^eumetsat-mtg-instruments][^esa-fci]

FCI has demonstrated atmospheric motion vectors on Meteosat-12, and sea-surface temperature retrieval and thermal-anomaly detection are demonstrated uses of the same instrument family in that mission context.[^eumetsat-mtg-instruments][^esa-fci] Its operational role is high-cadence geostationary imaging: 16 channels, full-disc refresh, regional rapid scan, and mature use on the MTG imaging mission line.[^eumetsat-mtg-instruments][^mtg-fci-guide]

## Compositional position
- meteosat-12 (missions) --[mission_payloads]--> Flexible Combined Imager (FCI)

## Sources
- [eumetsat-mtg-instruments] | Meteosat Third Generation Instruments | https://www.eumetsat.int/meteosat-third-generation-instruments | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16
- [esa-fci] | Flexible Combined Imager | https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Meteorological_missions/meteosat_third_generation/Flexible_Combined_Imager | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16
- [mtg-fci-guide] | MTG FCI level 1c data guide | https://user.eumetsat.int/resources/user-guides/mtg-fci-level-1c-data-guide | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-16

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/fci
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)