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Cryosat
CryoSat is an European Space Agency, ESA programme to monitor variations in the extent and thickness of polar ice through use of a satellite in low Earth orbit. The information provided about the behaviour of coastal glaciers that drain thinning ice sheets will be key to better predictions of future sea level rise. The CryoSat-1 spacecraft was lost in a launch failure in 2005, however the programme was resumed with the successful launch of a replacement, CryoSat-2, launched on 8 April 2010. CryoSat is operated from the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. Description CryoSat's primary instrument is SIRAL (synthetic aperture radar, SAR / interferometry, Interferometric Radar Altimeter). SIRAL operates in one of three modes, depending on where (above the Earth's surface) CryoSat was flying. Over the oceans and ice sheet interiors, CryoSat operates like a traditional radar altimeter. Over sea ice, coherently transmitted echoes are combined (synthetic aperture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CryoSat-2
CryoSat-2 is a European Space Agency (ESA) Earth Explorer Mission that launched on April 8, 2010. CryoSat-2 is dedicated to measuring polar sea ice thickness and monitoring changes in ice sheets. Its primary objective is to measure the thinning of Arctic sea ice, but has applications to other regions and scientific purposes, such as Antarctica and oceanography. CryoSat-2 was built as a replacement for CryoSat-1, which failed to reach orbit following a launch failure in October 2005. CryoSat-2 was successfully launched five years later in 2010, with upgraded software aiming to measure changes in ice thickness to an accuracy of ~10% of the expected interannual variation. Unlike previous satellite altimetry missions, CryoSat-2 provides unparalleled Arctic coverage, reaching 88˚N (previous missions were limited to 81.5˚N). The primary payload of the mission is a synthetic aperture radar ( SAR) Interferometric Radar Altimeter (SIRAL), which measures surface elevation. By subtrac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CryoSat-1
CryoSat-1, also known as just CryoSat, was a European Space Agency satellite which was lost in a launch failure in 2005. The satellite was launched as part of the European Space Agency's CryoSat mission, which aims to monitor ice in the high latitudes. The second mission satellite, CryoSat-2, was successfully launched in April 2010. Background The European Space Agency's CryoSat mission was developed following the success of previous satellite altimeters, including Envisat Envisat ("Environmental Satellite") is a large Earth-observing satellite which has been inactive since 2012. It is still in orbit and considered space debris. Operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), it was the world's largest civilian Ear ..., European Remote-Sensing Satellite, ERS-1 and European Remote-Sensing Satellite, ERS-2. The primary aim of the mission is to allow scientists to measure sea ice thickness and monitor changes on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets using Radar altimeter, rad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dnepr (rocket)
The Dnepr rocket (; ) was a space launch vehicle named after the Dnieper River. It was a converted ICBM used for launching artificial satellites into orbit, operated by launch service provider ISC Kosmotras. The first launch, on April 21, 1999, successfully placed UoSAT-12, a 350 kg demonstration mini-satellite, into a 650 km circular Low Earth orbit. History The Dnepr was based on the R-36MUTTH Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)called the ''SS-18 Satan'' by NATOdesigned in the 1970s by the Yuzhnoe Design Bureau in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR. among the outstanding authors of the project there are people like Boris Gubanov, Sergey Sopov. The Dnepr control system was developed and produced by the JSC "Khartron", Kharkiv. The Dnepr was a three-stage rocket using storable hypergolic liquid propellants. The launch vehicles used for satellite launches have been withdrawn from ballistic missile service with the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces and store ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European integration. Its 2025 annual budget was €7.7 billion. The ESA Human and Robotic Exploration programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station programme); as well as the launch and operation of missions to Mars and Moon. Further activities include science missions to Jupiter, Mercury, the Sun, Earth observation, Asteroid impact avoidance and Telecommunications missions, designing launch vehicles; and maintaining Europe's Spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou (French Guiana). Further programmes include space safety, satellite navigation, applications and commercialisation. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 6 is operated through Arianespace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
START II
START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States and Russia on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed by US President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin on 3 January 1993, banning the use of multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Hence, it is often cited as the De-MIRV-ing Agreement. It was ratified by the US Senate on 26 January 1996 with a vote of 87–4. Russia ratified START II on 14 April 2000, making it conditional on preserving the ABM Treaty. When the US withdrew from the ABM Treaty on 13 June 2002, Russia withdrew from START II one day later. Thus, START II never entered into effect. Instead, SORT came into effect, which reduced the strategic warheads count per country to 1,700–2,200. Impact of MIRV ICBMs using MIRVs are considered destabilizing because they put a premium on a first strike. These m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conventional weapon, Conventional, Chemical weapon, chemical, and Biological agent, biological weapons can also be delivered with varying effectiveness, but have never been deployed on ICBMs. Most modern designs support multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRVs), allowing a single missile to carry several warheads, each of which can strike a different target. The Nuclear weapons of the United States, United States, Russia and weapons of mass destruction, Russia, China and weapons of mass destruction, China, France and weapons of mass destruction, France, India and weapons of mass destruction, India, the United Kingdom and weapons of mass destruction, United Kingdom, Nuclear weapons and Israel, Israel, and North Korea and weapons of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SS-19
The UR-100N, also known as RS-18A, is an intercontinental ballistic missile in service with Soviet and Russian Strategic Missile Troops. The missile was given the NATO reporting name SS-19 Stiletto and carries the industry designation 15A30. Development Development of the UR-100N began at OKB-52 in 1970 and flight tests were carried out from 1973 through 1975. In 1976, the improved UR-100NUTTKh (NATO designation SS-19 Mod 3) version entered development with flight tests in the later half of the decade. The rocket's control system was developed at NPO "Electropribor" (Kharkiv, Ukraine). Description The UR-100N is a fourth-generation silo-launched liquid-propellant ICBM similar to the UR-100 but with much increased dimensions, mass, performance, and payload. The missile was not designed to use existing UR-100 silos, and therefore had new silos constructed for it. The missile has a preparation time to start of 25 minutes, a storage period of 22 years, and 6 MIRVs. Operational ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rockot
Rokot ( meaning ''Rumble'' or ''Boom''), also transliterated Rockot, was a Soviet Union (later Russian) space launch vehicle that was capable of launching a payload of into a Earth orbit with 63° inclination. It was based on the UR-100N (SS-19 Stiletto) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), supplied and operated by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The first launches started in the 1990s from Baikonur Cosmodrome out of a silo. Later commercial launches commenced from Plesetsk Cosmodrome using a launch ramp specially rebuilt from one for the Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. The cost of the launcher itself was about US$15 million in 1999; The contract with European Space Agency (ESA) for launching Swarm in September 2013 was worth €27.1 million (US$36 million). Specifications Rokot's total mass was 107 tonnes, its length 29 metres and its maximum diameter 2.5 metres. The liquid-fueled launch vehicle comprised three stages. The lower two were based on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders of Russia, land borders with fourteen countries. Russia is the List of European countries by population, most populous country in Europe and the List of countries and dependencies by population, ninth-most populous country in the world. It is a Urbanization by sovereign state, highly urbanised country, with sixteen of its urban areas having more than 1 million inhabitants. Moscow, the List of metropolitan areas in Europe, most populous metropolitan area in Europe, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, while Saint Petersburg is its second-largest city and Society and culture in Saint Petersburg, cultural centre. Human settlement on the territory of modern Russia dates back to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Plesetsk Cosmodrome () is a Russian spaceport located in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast, near the town of Plesetsk, from which it takes its name. Until 2025 and the commissioning of the Andøya Space, Andøya base in Norway, it was the only operational orbital spaceport in Europe and the northernmost spaceport in the world. Originally developed as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) site for the R-7 (missile), R-7 missile, its strategic location approximately north of Moscow was key to its selection. Due to its high latitude, Plesetsk is particularly suited for specific types of satellite launches, such as those into Molniya orbits, and historically served as a secondary launch facility. Most Soviet orbital launches were conducted from Baikonur Cosmodrome, located in the Kazakh SSR. However, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Baikonur became part of Kazakhstan, which began charging Russia to lease the land for its use. As a result, Plesetsk has seen significant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Remote-Sensing Satellite
European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS) was the European Space Agency's first Earth-observing satellite programme using a polar orbit. It consisted of two satellites, ERS-1 and ERS-2, with ERS-1 being launched in 1991. ERS-1 ERS-1 launched 17 July 1991 from Guiana Space Centre aboard an Ariane 4 rocket. The satellite was put into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 782–785 km. ERS-1 failed on 10 March 2000 after nine years in orbit. Instruments ERS-1 carried an array of Earth-observation instruments that gathered information about the Earth (land, water, ice, and atmosphere) using a variety of measurement principles. These included: * RA (Radar Altimeter) is a single frequency nadir-pointing radar altimeter operating in the Ku band. * ATSR-1 ( Along-Track Scanning Radiometer) is a 4 channel infrared radiometer and microwave sounder for measuring temperatures at the sea-surface and the top of clouds. * SAR ( synthetic-aperture radar) operating in C ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Tracker
A star tracker is an optical device that measures the positions of stars using photocells or a camera. As the positions of many stars have been measured by astronomers to a high degree of accuracy, a star tracker on a satellite or spacecraft may be used to determine the orientation (or attitude) of the spacecraft with respect to the stars. In order to do this, the star tracker must obtain an image of the stars, measure their apparent position in the reference frame of the spacecraft, and identify the stars so their position can be compared with their known absolute position from a star catalog. A star tracker may include a processor to identify stars by comparing the pattern of observed stars with the known pattern of stars in the sky. History In the 1950s and early 1960s, star trackers were an important part of early long-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, in the era when inertial navigation systems (INS) were not sufficiently accurate for intercontinental ranges. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
