The launch of the highly complex MetOp satellite from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan has been delayed "at least until Tuesday," said Livia Briese, a spokeswoman for EUMETSAT, the organisation that operates Europe's system of meteorological satellites.

The delay may have been due to "a problem with the launcher," another European source told AFP.

A third European source said that a new launch attempt would take place at the same time on Tuesday: 8:28 pm Moscow time (1628 GMT).

The MetOp-A satellite -- 17.6 metres (58 feet) long once its power-producing solar panels are deployed and weighing over four tonnes -- is the most complex satellite of its kind, carrying around a dozen instruments for measuring weather patterns and transmitting back data.

The project's backers, which include the European Space Agency, say that this and two more satellites to be launched in coming years will provide higher quality data that will improve both weather forecasting and climate monitoring.

The project is being run in cooperation with the United States, with European and US satellites expected to operate in complementary orbits, organisers say.

The expected launch is seen as timely due to the apparent increase in extreme weather conditions.

The total cost of launching all three satellites is put at 2.4 billion euros (3 billion dollars).

All rights reserved. copyright 2018 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.