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Ground segment declared ready for CryoSat mission

7 August 2009

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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

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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

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CryoSat-2 SIRAL instrument activity over orbital path

Credits: ESA

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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