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GFO : the end of a long run
Launched in February 1998, GFO is now arriving at the end of its mission. After an onboard problem of overheating reaction wheels last September, GFO's transmitter was turned off for the final time. The final orbit manoeuver was held on 26 November 2008 for a spacecraft disintegration early December.
GFO data was integrated in Ssalto/Duacs operational system since 2001 and strongly improved the quality and precision of multimission altimetry products. The four altimetry satellits in orbit between 2002 and 2005 ( T/P tandem, ERS/ENVISAT, GFO and Jason-1 ), offered an unprecedented spatial and temporal sampling of the ocean signal for real time applications. Even with a partial coverage last months, GFO data were representing near 20% of the total altimeter data involved in the system and contributed to longer maintain NRT services during the Jason-1 gap in last August.
Even if it could not achieve the longevity of Topex/Poseidon, the mission of GFO has been exceptionally long and rich in events. Its success was made possible thanks to the involvement of U.S. Navy and Noaa operational teams, in charge of processing and distribution of data for civilian applications such as Duacs.
Further information:
- Missions, <link internal-link>GFO
- Noaa : <link http: ibis.grdl.noaa.gov sat gfo _blank external-link-new-window>GFO homepage
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