Apr
15
2010
Satellite blasts off on mission to map the Earth's melting ice
By paulgreen
A hi-tech European satellite designed to measure how fast the Earth’s polar ice caps are melting was successfully launched into orbit nearly five years after the first attempt at such a mission ended in spectacular failure.
CryoSat-2, which was designed and built in France and Germany but masterminded by British scientists, blasted off on a Russian launcher rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan shortly before 3pm on 8th April. Some time later, a tracking station in Africa picked up the satellite’s signal, confirming that it had gone into orbit.
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