As ESA prepares for the launch of CryoSat-2 at the end of the year, its associated ground segment is now ready.

ESA's ice mission CryoSat-2 is due to launch on a Dnepr rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in December. CryoSat-2 replaces the original CryoSat satellite, which was lost as a result of a failure in the timing of the launch sequence in October of 2005.

Now, just three and a half years after the decision was taken to rebuild CryoSat, the new satellite is awaiting shipment to the launch site and the ground segment infrastructure is in place for launch. The ground segment mainly comprises the Flight Operations Segment (FOS), through which the satellite is controlled and monitored, and the Payload Data Ground Segment (PDGS), which allows the data from the satellite to be received, processed, archived and distributed to the users. ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, is responsible for controlling and monitoring the satellite via the ESA/ESTRACK ground station in Kiruna in northern Sweden. The data will also be received by the ground station, where they will be processed under the control of ESA's Centre for Earth Observation (ESRIN) in Frascati, Italy, for final delivery to the users.