Cryosat

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General

Designation	n/a
Launch date	8 Oct 2005
Country of origin	Europe
Mission	Scientific
Perigee/Apogee	720 km but not sun-synchronous
Inclination	92°
Period
Launch vehicle	Rokot #12

Satellite worth EUR 140 million. First Earth Explorer Opportunity Mission, part of ESA Living Planet.

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End of life

Out of service	8 Oct 2005
Cause	Launch failure. The launcher's program was incorrect.

Would have measured changes in the thickness of ice sheets and polar ocean sea-ice cover with unprecedented accuracy (1-3 cm). Would have made it possible to test predictions of ice melting due to global warming.

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External resources

http://www.esa.int/livingplanet/cryosat.html

Lookup sat-index archive

Technical data

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Specifications

Prime contractor	Astrium
Platform
Mass at launch	737 kg
Mass in orbit
Dimension
Solar array	fixed to satellite body like a roof
Stabilization
DC power
Design lifetime	3.5 years

Two radar antennas.

TT&C in S-band. Data in X-band.

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SIRAL

SAR/Interferometric Radar ALtimeter provided by Alcatel Space. 70 kg.
Designed to measure the Earth's diverse ice-fields (mass and thickness), derived from the Poseidon oceanographic altimeter.

The Doris instrument will be used to precisely determine the orbit of the satellite, with the help of signals sent by earth stations.

A small laser retroreflector will also be onboard.

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