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Envisat celebrates its 10th birthday
Ten years ago, the Esa's Envisat mission was put into orbit.
Ten years ago, the Esa's Envisat mission was put into orbit. For a decade, more than one hundred cycles (with a-35 days orbital period) are counted. Today, the mission is still operational and still contributes to a robust sampling for near-real-time applications. Thus, Envisat is still a key component providing good complementarity with the tandem Jason and Cryosat-2.
The Envisat altimeter's RA-2 has demonstrated its perfect performances for a wealth of applications: sea level, continental water, ice ... Indeed, thanks to its orbit to make measurements up to ± 82 ° North and South, Envisat is able to reach high latitudes, less available for other missions.
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Map of the sea ice thickness anomaly for the 2007/2008 | Antarctica topography as measured by Envisat |
In October 2010, the Envisat satellite moved to a new lower orbit to ensure an additional 3 years lifespan. This is ensuring the continuity until the next generation of satellites are fully operational in 2013 (Sentinel-3).