# CryoSat-2
*missions*

## Specifications
- **operator**: esa
- **launch vehicle**: dnepr
- **actual launch**: 2010-04-08
- **current status**: extended
- **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
- **entity type**: mission
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-14
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: esa
- **attributes**: {"operator":"esa","launch_vehicle":"dnepr","actual_launch":"2010-04-08","current_status":"extended","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"}
- **relevance**: in-scope

## Editorial
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.[^esa-cryosat-operations] 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.[^wmo-cryosat-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.[^esa-cryosat-operations] A secondary objective covers ocean mesoscale circulation in areas not reached by sun-synchronous altimeters.[^cnes-cryosat] 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.[^esa-cryosat-operations]

## Compositional position
- CryoSat-2 --[mission_payloads]--> siral (products)
- CryoSat-2 --[related-topic]--> glacier-ice-mass (topics)
- CryoSat-2 --[related-topic]--> sea-ice (topics)
- CryoSat-2 --[related-topic]--> sea-level (topics)

## Sources
- [esa-cryosat-operations] | CryoSat-2 operations, ESA | https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/CryoSat-2_operations | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14
- [wmo-cryosat-2] | WMO OSCAR satellite record: CryoSat-2 | https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/cryosat_2 | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14
- [cnes-cryosat] | CryoSat-2 project page, CNES | https://cnes.fr/en/projects/cryosat | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-14

---
Source: https://eo-atlas.org/missions/cryosat-2
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)