CryoSat-2 Arrives at Baikonur

[Satellite TODAY 04-05-10] The European Space Agency‘s (ESA) CryoSat-2 ice satellite has arrived at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and has been integrated with the Dnepr rocket in preparation for its April 8 launch, the ESA announced April 2.
    The satellite will be powered up and tested April 3, with simulations to test communication sequences and procedures between the launch site and ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Germany the next day.
    CryoSat-2 is the ESA’s third Earth Explorer mission to be launched in the last year following the SMOS mission, launched in November, and the GOCE mission, launched in March 2009.

Related Stories-

CryoSat-2 Launch Delayed   Satellite Today   February 22, 2010
[Satellite TODAY 02-22-10] Russian launch provider Kosmotras has postponed the launch of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) CryoSat-2 satellite due to technical issues with the Dnepr rocket s second stage steering engine, ESA announced Feb. 19.

Thales Alenia Space Ships SMOS to Plesetsk Cosmodrome   Satellite Today   September 18, 2009
[Satellite TODAY 09-18-09] Thales Alenia Space has shipped the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Earth observation satellite to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia, for its scheduled Nov. 2 launch, Thales Alenia Space announced.

Thales Delivers SIRAL-2   Satellite Today   February 11, 2008
[Satellite Today 2-11-08] Thales Alenia Space has delivered SIRAL-2, the synthetic aperture interferometric radar altimeter for the CryoSat-2 mission, to prime contractor EADS Astrium, Thales announced Feb. 11.