Alcatel Alenia Space received a contract from prime contractor EADS Space to provide the main instrument for the Cryosat-2 spacecraft, Alcatel announced Oct. 2.

CryoSat-2, scheduled to be launched in 2009, is designed to study global climate change and determine the cause of the shrinking of the polar ice cap. The Siral-2 radar altimeter provided by Alcatel Alenia will be used to determine the thickness of ice sheets.

Cryosat-2 is a replacement for the Cryosat satellite lost in a February launch failure.