EO·Atlas
CryoSat-2
CryoSat-2 is ESA's dedicated ice mission, launched on 8 April 2010 from Baikonur by a Dnepr rocket into a 717 km, 92-degree non-sun-synchronous orbit optimised for polar coverage.[1] Its primary instrument, SIRAL (SAR Interferometric Radar Altimeter), measures surface elevation over ice sheets and sea ice using Ku-band pulse-limited and SAR/interferometric radar altimetry modes.[2] The mission quantifies mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets and derives sea-ice freeboard and thickness across the Arctic and Southern Ocean.[1] A secondary objective covers ocean mesoscale circulation in areas not reached by sun-synchronous altimeters.[3] CryoSat-2 entered an extended operational phase after its original design life and as of 2026 has accumulated 16 years of continuous polar altimetry data.[1]
All fields
| current status | extended |
| operator | European Space Agency |
| launch vehicle | dnepr |
| Launched | 2010-04-08 |
| orbit type | Low-Earth non-sun-synchronous drifting orbit, 717 km altitude, 92 deg inclination |
| tasking supported | false |
| archive depth years | 16 |
| current geographic priority | polar ice sheets, floating sea ice, and secondary ocean observation |
| Last updated | 2026-06-14 |
| claim status | agency-sourced |
Compositional position
- [1]CryoSat-2 operations, ESAagency doc2026-06-14
- [2]WMO OSCAR satellite record: CryoSat-2agency doc2026-06-14
- [3]CryoSat-2 project page, CNESagency doc2026-06-14