4.3.3. (AltiKa)

The CNES-built AltiKa altimeter (working in Ka-band, 35 GHz), as well as a DORIS instrument, is scheduled to be carried on board an ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) satellite. Signal frequencies in the Ka-band will enable better observation of ice, rain, coastal zones, land masses (forests, etc.) and wave heights.

This will be an oceanography mission, complementary to Jason-2. Its objectives are:

" to carry out precise, repetitive global measurements of sea surface height, significant wave heights and wind speed, for:
- developing operational oceanography;
- improving understanding of the climate and developing forecasting capabilities;
- operational meteorology.
to ensure, from 2009, in association with Jason-2, the continuity of the service currently provided by the altimeters onboard Envisat and Jason-1,
to meet the requirements expressed by various international ocean and climate study programmes, and contribute to building a global ocean observing system.

The proposed payload will integrate:

a high-resolution AltiKa altimeter that incorporates a dual-frequency radiometric function,
the DORIS precise orbitography system, in association with a laser retroreflector (LRA).

This payload will be carried onboard an Indian satellite which has yet to be defined. Besides this payload it will also carry an Argos instrument. The mission, which is a cooperation between CNES and ISRO, is planned to be launched at the end of 2009, with a life of three years (two years for the nominal phase and one year for the extended phase).

Further information on the AltiKa instrument