Space Print from NASA: Meteosat 2 APPLE Satellite. This payload, integrated in launch configuration, was launched by a European Ariane rocket on 19th June 1981. Meteosat 2 was the first of the European operational weather satellites and operated for far longer than its design life of three years (NASA Media Archives). Buy this picture as an unframed print or poster, a framed print or a mounted box canvas print.