The main instrument on the Meteosat satellites is an imaging radiometer, called Seviri, provided with 12 spectral channels. This enables the systems to measure the energy carried by electromagnetic wawes at specific spectral frequencies. It thus provides information to establish a set of points, or pixels. These data are then processed on the ground to obtain an image simulating a black-and-white photograph.

Meteosat satellites spin about their own axis, which stabilizes them naturally. At each rotation, the instrument scans the Earth from west to east, shifting from north to south from one rotation to the next. MSG takes 15 minutes to cover the globe, compared to 30 minutes for its predecessors.

The Meteosat and MSG satellites are operated from the Eumetsat control centre in Darmstadt, Germany. This unit is responsible for processing and distributing data to the thousands of Meteosat users in Europe and Africa. Processing centres located throughout Europe back up this main station, supplying specific information on ozone, the oceans and climate change.