CryoSat is intended to measure the secular trend in ice thickness for both the floating sea-ice and the ice-caps in both the northern and southern hemisphere. To do this, the satellite uses an advanced radar altimeter combined with precise orbit determination.

As the mission is intended to measure small secular change in a measure of distance it is necessary to use laser ranging for:

calibration of the altimeter and
support to the POD

The latter will primarily be performed with DORIS, but the SLR measurements will provide an essential independent tracking data type.

Unfortunately, the CryoSat satellite was lost due to a launch failure on October 8, 2005 (ESA news release).

Mission Instrumentation:

CryoSat will have the following instrumentation onboard:

SAR/Inteferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL)
DORIS receiver
Retroreflector array
Three star trackers

Mission Parameters:

CryoSat Mission Parameters
Sponsor:	ESA
Expected Life:	3 years
Primary Applications:	measure ice thickness
Primary SLR Applications:	precision orbit determination
COSPAR ID:	TBD
SIC Code:	TBD
NORAD SSC Code:	TBD
Launch Date:	October 8, 2005
NP Bin Size:	15 seconds
RRA Diameter:	16 cm
RRA Shape:	hemispherical
Reflectors:	7 corner cubes (Meteor design)
Orbit:	circular, non sun-synchronous
Inclination:	92 degrees
Eccentricity:	0.0
Altitude:	~720 km
Weight:	711 kg

Additional Information:

Web sites:

Publications:

Femenias, P.F., "ESA EO Envisat and Cryosat Missions Status (Poster)", 14th International Laser Ranging Workshop, San Fernando, Spain, June 7-11, 2004.", 14th International Laser Ranging Workshop, San Fernando, Spain, June 7-11, 2004.