CNES and ISRO are happy and proud to celebrate 10 years of SARAL. Launched on February 25, 2013 from the Indian base of Satish-Dhawan, with a PSLV launcher, SARAL (Satellite for ARgos and ALtimetry) is a Franco-Indian collaboration with which EUMETSAT is associated.

The satellite consists of an ISRO SSB (Small Satellite Bus) platform and a CNES payload composed of ARGOS-3 and AltiKa instruments (altimeter, radiometer, DORIS, LRA). Imagined at the turn of the 3rd millennium, AltiKa brought a technological breakthrough with for the first time a Ka band altimeter to measure the topography of the surface of the oceans.
Still working perfectly, the altimeter of AltiKa continues to offer a better resolution to the ground allowing to approach closer the coast or to have access to rivers and lakes on continents and penetrate less profoundly into the snow or sea ice, allowing to collect information of height on these surfaces. So, besides contributing to the observation of the mesoscale ocean circulation, which is essential to understand the dynamics of the ocean and its climatic impacts, the data of AltiKa are also widely used by the community of the glaciologists and the hydrologists.
Thanks to the constant investment of the ISRO, CNES and EUMETSAT operational teams and despite worries about maintaining the precise track on the ground and attitude control, SARAL is relentlessly pursuing its work as an ocean surveyor for the benefit of the international scientific community and the Copernicus Marine Service.
ISRO and CNES are committed to operations at least until the end of 2023 and will jointly study during the year a possible continuation of the mission in 2024 and beyond...

Happy anniversary SARAL and all our wishes for good health...

Further information:

• Missions: Saral