ERS-2

The ERS satellites's (European Remote Sensing) main mission is to observe Earth, in particular its atmosphere and ocean. Build by Esa, the European Space Agency, they carry several instruments, including a radar altimeter.

ERS-2 was launched in April 1995 as the follow-on from ERS-1, with which it was used in tandem from August 1995 to June 1996, their identical orbits (35 days) having a one-day shift. Since 22 June 2003, ERS-2's onboard tape recorder used for the altimeter data has experienced a number of failures. This means that altimeter data are unavailable except for when the satellite is within visibility of Esa's ground stations over Europe, North Atlantic, the Arctic and western North America. Launched in March 2000, the Envisat satellite is is the follow-on to ERS-1 and ERS-2.