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CryoSat-2 launch successful

8 April 2010

At 14:57 BST on Thursday 8 April, the European Space Agency successfully launched its ice mission CryoSat-2 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The satellite will measure both the shape and thickness Arctic and Antarctic ice with unprecedented accuracy and tell scientists how melting polar ice affects ocean circulation patterns, sea level and global climate.

CryoSat-2 is the third of ESA's Earth Explorer missions and follows the successful launches of the GOCE (Gravity field and steady state Ocean Circulation Explorer) and SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) satellites last year. Its launch is a testament to Europe's commitment to the mission following the launch failure of CryoSat-1 in 2005.

CryoSat-2 will use an instrument called an altimeter to measure ice thickness. This works by recording the time it takes for pulses of microwave energy fired down at the ice to return to the satellite. Scientists can use the difference between how long it takes for the echoes to return from the tops of ice floes and from the water in cracks in the ice to calculate how thick the ice is.

CryoSat-2's ability to monitor changes at the poles will surpass the abilities of earlier ESA satellites - its radar has been specifically designed for the task and its orbit will cover much more of the Arctic and Antarctica than has previously been possible.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Briefing note: 02/10