ESA Confirms CryoSat-2 Mission

Artist's impression of CryoSat 1 satellite that was lost because of a Russian booster failure during launch. (ESA/AOES Medialab photo)

PARIS, Feb. 27, 2006/Satnews Daily/ — The European Space Agency’s Earth Observation Program Board has confirmed it has received the green light from ESA Member States to build and launch a CryoSat recovery mission, CryoSat-2.

“This decision is very important, as the scientific community in Europe and elsewhere is eagerly awaiting resumption of the CryoSat mission. We are happy to have obtained approval,” said Volker Liebig, ESA director of Earth observation programs, after the board’s meeting at ESA’s headquarters in Paris on February 23-24.
 
The launch of the CryoSat spacecraft was aborted on October 8, 2005 due to a malfunction of its Rockot launcher, which resulted in the total loss of the spacecraft.

A CryoSat recovery plan was presented to the Program Board by ESA’s Executive, which explained the status of ongoing activities and outlined the preparatory work leading to a CryoSat-2 mission, expected to be launched in March 2009.  

CryoSat-2 will have the same mission objectives as the original CryoSat mission; it will monitor the thickness of land ice and sea ice and help explain the connection between the melting of the polar ice and the rise in sea levels and how this is contributing to climate change.

ESA said the positive decision on CryoSat-2 will allow rational use to be made of the technical and industrial competences for the original mission, as well as best use of the ground segment facilities and operational setup planned for that first mission. It means that the pre-launch scientific validation campaigns over land ice and sea ice can resume with the support of national institutes, ESA added.

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