ERS-2

The European Space Agency launched the ERS-2 satellite in 1995, overlapping its operation with that of the ERS-1 satellite which was decommissioned in 1999.

ERS-2 was built around a payload nucleus composed of two specialised radars, an infrared image capture device and an instrument designed to monitor ozone concentrations in the atmosphere.

The ERS-2 satellite flies over the Earth at an altitude of 800 km, completing an orbit every 100 minutes and thus covering the entire planet in only three days. The ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites have collected a large quantity of data on the planet's land surfaces, oceans and polar ice caps.