BackForward Satellite: ERS-2 

Satellite details
Acronym ERS-2
Full name European Remote-sensing Satellite - 2
WIGOS Station Identifier ---
Satellite Description
  • 2nd (last) flight unit of the ERS programme.
  • Main missions: ocean observation.
  • Substantial contribution to land observation and atmospheric chemistry.
  • Significant contribution to Solid Earth.
Mass at launch 2516 kg Dry mass 2216 kg
Power 2000 W
Data access link no link provided
Data access information
  • Most products available from the PAFs (UK-PAF, D-PAF, I-PAF and F-PAF).
  • Several products available in Near-Real-Time.
  • Product of meteorological interest available on the GTS through the Regional Telecommunication Hub (RTH) of Rome.
Orbit Sunsynchronous orbit Altitude 785 km
ECT 10:30 desc

 

Space agency ESA
Status Inactive
Details on Status
(as available)
  • Onboard storage capability lost in June 2003.
  • PRARE switched off on 31 December 2007.
  • ATSR-2 failed in February 2008.
Launch 21 Apr 1995 EOL 06 Jul 2011
Last update: 2019-10-30
Associated satellite programme and related satellites

Note: red tag: no longer operational , green tag: operational , blue tag : future

Satellite Payload

All known Instruments flying on ERS-2

Acronym Full name
AMI-SAR Active Microwave Instrument - Synthetic Aperture Antenna
AMI-SCAT Active Microwave Instrument - Scatterometer
ATSR-2 Along-Track Scanning Radiometer - 2
GOME Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment
LRR Laser Retro-Reflector
MWR Micro-Wave Radiometer
PRARE Precise Range And Range-rate Equipment
RA Radar Altimeter
Show instrument status and calibration
Satellite frequencies for Earth Observation, data transfer and platform communications and control
Earth observation MW frequencies
Service Sensing mode Frequency (GHz) Bandwidth (MHz) Polarisation Comments
RA active 13.8 GHz - 13.8 GHz 0 MHz - Ku-band radar altimeter
MWR passive 23.8 GHz 650 MHz - Water vapour channel (supporting altimeter)
MWR passive 36.5 GHz 650 MHz - Window channel (supporting altimeter)
AMI-SCAT active 5.3 GHz - 5.3 GHz 0 MHz - C-band scatterometer
AMI-SAR active 5.3 GHz - 5.3 GHz 0 MHz - C-band SAR