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Paris, Oct. 1/Satnews Daily/ — Alcatel Space, a
subsidiary of Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE: ALA) said it has delivered the
SIRAL (SAR/Interferometric Radar ALtimeter) instrument to EADS Astrium GmbH for
integration on the CryoSat satellite, slated for a late March 2005 launch.
The first mission of the Living Planet program started by
the European Space Agency in 1999, CryoSat will study the Earth's ice fields.
The SIRAL altimeter, according to Alcatel, is designed to measure the Earth's
diverse ice-fields, providing a highly accurate topography of this variable
environment. Understanding this variability is a key to understanding our
climate.
SIRAL, the primary payload on CryoSat, is derived from the well-known Poseidon
oceanographic altimeter. It will measure the ice sheets at the poles to an
unprecedented degree of accuracy. Not only will this radar-based instrument
determine the changing mass of the polar ice, it will also provide a precise
picture of the rate of change in its thickness. The polar ice cap of course
plays an essential role in the stability of the global climate, as well as
influencing the average sea level and the circulation of large ocean currents.
SIRAL is a highly innovative, compact instrument, weighing just 70 kilograms. It
combines three measurement modes: Low-resolution, for conventional altimetric
measurements limited to the relatively flat relief of continental ice-fields
both inland and at sea; Synthetic Aperture Radar mode, to provide
high-resolution measurement of floating sea-ice, and; Interferometric radar mode
to study sharper reliefs, such as the very active transition areas where ice
fields adjoin a continental shelf.
"We put all of our know-how into the SIRAL instrument,"
said Pascale Sourisse, Chairman and CEO of Alcatel Space. "The combination of
our proven expertise in SAR and altimetric radar technologies, our experience
with Poseidon 1 and 2, and our track record in optical interferometry with IASI
should ensure the success of this mission, eagerly awaited by climatologists and
other scientists the world over."
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