TOPEX/Poseidon
< TOPEX
Artist's rendering of the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite. | |
| Mission type | Remote sensing |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA and CNES |
| COSPAR ID | 1992-052A |
| SATCAT no. | 22076 |
| Mission duration | Achieved: 13 years, 5 months In Orbit: 32 years, 10 months, 10 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 2,400 kilograms (5,300 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 10 August 1992 |
| Rocket | Ariane 42P |
| Launch site | Guiana Space Centre, Kourou |
| End of mission | |
| Declared | January 18, 2006 |
| Deactivated | October 2005 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Non Sun-synchronous |
| Eccentricity | 0.000 |
| Perigee altitude | 1,340 kilometers (830 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 1,340 kilometers (830 mi) |
| Inclination | 66 degrees |
| Period | 112 minutes |
TOPEX/Poseidon was a joint satellite altimeter mission between NASA, the U.S. space agency; and CNES, the French space agency, to map ocean surface topography. Launched on August 10, 1992, it was the first major oceanographic research satellite. TOPEX/Poseidon helped revolutionize oceanography by providing data previously impossible to obtain. Oceanographer Walter Munk described TOPEX/Poseidon as "the most successful ocean experiment of all time." A malfunction ended normal satellite operations in January 2006.