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Ground segment declared ready for CryoSat mission
 
7 August 2009

Kiruna station
The Kiruna S- and X-band station supports ESA's Envisat and ERS-2 satellites, and is scheduled to support CryoSat-2 in 2009. The station is located at Salmijärvi, 38 km east of Kiruna, in northern Sweden. The station is equipped for tracking, telemetry and command operations as well as for reception, recording, processing and dissemination of data.

Credits: ESA - S.Corvaja
 
 
CryoSat-2 undergoing testing
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CryoSat-2 undergoing testing at the Space Test Centre at IABG (Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH) in Ottobrunn, Germany in June 2009.

Credits: ESA
 
 
CryoSat-2 activity
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CryoSat-2 SIRAL instrument activity over orbital path

Credits: ESA
 
 
CryoSat-2 measuring sea-ice thickness
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Using a sophisticated radar altimeter called SIRAL (Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometric Radar Altimetry), CryoSat-2 will make accurate measurements of the thickness of floating sea-ice so that seasonal to inter-annual variations can be detected. It will also survey the surface of continental ice sheets to detect small elevation changes.

Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab
 
 
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