The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) propose to conduct a Topex/Poseidon Mission for studying the global ocean circulation from space. The mission will use the techniques of satellite altimetry to make precise and accurate measurements of sea level for several years. The measurements will then be used by Principal Investigators (selected by NASA and CNES) and by the wider oceanographic community working closely with large international programs for observing the Earth, on studies leading to an improved understanding of global ocean dynamics and the interaction of the ocean with other processes influencing life on Earth. The major elements of the mission include a satellite carrrying an altimetric system for measuring the height of the satellite above the sea surface; a precision orbit determination system for referring the altimetric measurements to geodetic coordinates; a data analysis and distribution system for processing the satellite data, verifying their accuracy, and making them available to the scientific community; and a principal investigator program for scientific studies based on the satellite observations. This document describes the satellite, its sensors, its orbit, the data analysis system, and plans for verifying and distributing the data. It then discusses the expected accuracy of the satellite's measurements and their usefulness to oceanographic, geophysical, and other scientific studies. Finally, it outlines the relationship of the Topex/Poseidon mission to other large programs, including the World Climate Research Program, the U.S. Navy's Remote Ocean Sensing System satellite program and the European Space Agency's ERS-1 satellite program.


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    Title :

    Science opportunities from the Topex/Poseidon mission


    Contributors:
    Stewart, R. (author) / Fu, L. L. (author) / Lefebvre, M. (author)

    Publication date :

    1986-07-15


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English


    Keywords :


    Science Opportunities from the Topex/Poseidon Mission

    R. Stewart / L. L. Fu / M. Lefebvre | NTIS | 1986


    TOPEX/POSEIDON Mission Overview

    Escudier, P. / Dorrer, M. / Menard, Y. et al. | NTRS | 1994


    TOPEX/POSEIDON Mission Early Results

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    TOPEX-POSEIDON: le concept de mission

    Minster, Jean-François | Online Contents | 1995


    TOPEX-POSEIDON: le concept de mission

    Minster, Jean-François | Online Contents | 1995