Objectives and Applications
CICERO satellites host CION instruments (CICERO Instrument for GNSS-RO) which perform GNSS-RO by sensing radio signals broadcast by GNSS satellites (GPS and Galileo) and measuring the phase delay due to refraction during occultation. Second-generation CICERO-2 satellites (two launched in 2022) carry an improved CION instrument, CION-2, which measures reflected signals from the sea surface and has a polarimetric capability, in addition to GNSS-RO. CION and CION-2 data produce high-accuracy profiles of atmospheric pressure, temperature, and moisture; 3D maps of the electron distribution in the ionosphere; and information on ocean and ice properties.
Full Name
Community Initiative for Continuing Earth Radio Occultation 7
Mission Status
Operational (nominal)
Mission Agencies
GeoOptics
Launch Date
12 Jan 2018
Mission Links
EOL Date
Dec 2025
Orbit Type
Sun-synchronous
Orbit Period
Orbit Sense
Orbit Inclination
97.56 deg
Orbit Altitude
504 km
Orbit Longitude
NORAD Catalog #
International Designator
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