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 2.1
Mission Status
Operational (nominal)
Mission Agencies
GeoOptics
Launch Date
25 May 2022
Mission Links
EOL Date
Dec 2025
Orbit Type
Sun-synchronous
Orbit Period
Orbit Sense
Orbit Inclination
Orbit Altitude
Orbit Longitude
NORAD Catalog #
International Designator
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