Envisat: satellite facts

Launch

1 March 2002 (CET)

Launcher

Ariane 5

Launch mass

8200 kg

Payload mass (the instruments)

2050 kg

Planned mission length

5 years

Number of instruments

10

Orbit

Sun synchronous,  altitude 800 km

Inclination

98 degrees

Time for one orbit

101 minutes

Cycle

35 day repeat, though many of Envisat’s instruments observe a wide swath of Earth and so observe the whole planet every few days.

Cost

About 2 billion Euros

Main contributors

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom