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CryoSat
CryoSat
CryoSat
Credit: Manufacturer Image
European earth resources radar satellite. CryoSat carried a radar altimeter to acquire accurate measurements of the thickness of floating sea ice so that annual variations could be detected. Radar Altimetry Mission satellite built by Astrium for ESA, Europe. Launched 2005 - 2010.

Status: Operational 2005. First Launch: 2005-10-08. Last Launch: 2010-04-08. Number: 2 . Gross mass: 669 kg (1,474 lb). Unfuelled mass: 633 kg (1,395 lb). Height: 4.60 m (15.00 ft). Diameter: 2.20 m (7.20 ft).

It would also permit survey the surface of ice sheets accurately enough to detect small changes. After a seven-year development program, the spacecraft was lost due to a software error in the guidance of the Rokot launch vehicle that was to have placed it in orbit.

CryoSat carried a radar altimeter to acquire accurate measurements of the thickness of floating sea ice so that annual variations could be detected. It would also permit survey the surface of ice sheets accurately enough to detect small changes. After a seven-year development program, the spacecraft was lost due to a software error in the guidance of the Rokot launch vehicle that was to have placed it in orbit. Since it operated in SAR and Interferometric modes, the altimeter was called SIRAL (SAR Interferometric Radar Altimeter). CryoSat would have orbited at an unusually high inclination, reaching latitudes of 88 deg North and South. CryoSat would have achieved improved spatial resolution of 250 m in the along-track direction using the Synthetic Aperture technique.

CryoSat's orbit was not sun-synchronous and would have gone through frequent eclipse phases. This presented thermal challenges in the satellite design. CryoSat also did not have any deployable solar panels - - in fact the satellite had no moving parts at all, except for some valves in the propulsion system. The solar panels were fixed to the satellite body, forming a 'roof' at an optimized angle, which provided adequate power under all orbital conditions and still fitted within the launch vehicle.

Cryosat had an intended mission duration of 3.5 years in its non Sun-synchronous, circular 717 km orbit inclined at 92 degrees. The payload consisted of the SIRAL; the DORIS receiver (which received signals from a global network of radio beacons for orbit determination); a laser retroreflector; an X-band antenna (to transmit the huge volume of SIRAL measurement data to the ground when the satellite was above the horizon at Kiruna, Sweden); an S-band helix antenna (to receive telecommands from the ground and transmit status and monitoring information); and three star trackers. The loss of the spacecraft on launch brought to a sorry end a seven-year development program. Milestones included:


More at: CryoSat.

Family: Earth, Earth resources. Country: Europe. Launch Vehicles: UR-100N, Rokot, Dnepr. Launch Sites: Plesetsk, Baikonur LC109, Plesetsk LC133/3. Agency: ESA. Bibliography: 2, 3654, 6435, 12193.

2005 October 8 - . 15:02 GMT - . Launch Site: Plesetsk. Launch Complex: Plesetsk LC133/3. LV Family: UR-100N. Launch Vehicle: Rokot. FAILURE: The first stage burned to depletion due to a missing command in the software sequence. This resulted in the second stage failing to separate.. Failed Stage: 1.
2010 April 8 - . 13:57 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC109. Launch Pad: LC109/95. LV Family: R-36M. Launch Vehicle: Dnepr.

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