BackForwardInstrument:  SSALT 

Instrument details
Acronym SSALT
Full name Single-frequency Solid-state Altimeter
Purpose Ocean topography, significant wave height, wind speed on sea surface
Short description Single frequencies (13.65 GHz)
Background New development, also known as Poseidon-1
Scanning Technique Nadir-only viewing, continuous sampling along track
Resolution 25 km
Coverage / Cycle Global coverage in 10 days for 100 km average spacing
Mass 24 kg Power 49 W Data Rate

 

Providing Agency CNES
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1992 to 2005
Last update: 2017-03-31
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Active and radio-occultation sensor
  • Radar altimeter
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • Wide-swath radar altimeters, and high altitude, inclined, high-precision orbit altimeters
  • Conventional radar altimeter
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Coastal sea level (tide)
  • Ocean dynamic topography
  • Significant wave height
Evaluation of Measurements