* Astronomy

Timeline - launch activities 8 April 2010

Time (CEST)	Mission time	Event
07:57:00	-08:00:00	Start of countdown
09:57:00	-06:00:00	Spacecraft switch-on
13:57:00	-02:00:00	ESA Mission Control Team on console in ESOC/Main Control Room
14:17:00	-01:40:00	Satellite in Launch Mode
15:07:00	-00:50:00	Command from LCC to switch to internal power
15:07:00	-00:50:00	ESA Mission Control Team confirms GO for launch
15:17:00	-00:38:00	LCC announces "CryoSat-2 GO for launch"
15:37:00	-00:20:00	Launch teams evacuate silo area
15:42:00	-00:15:00	Start of launcher automated sequence
15:52:00	-00:05:00	Last possibility for launch abort by ESA
15:54:00	-00:03:00	LCC reports "Dnepr GO for launch"
15:54:04	-00:02:56	START button pressed at LCC
15:56:05	-00:00:55	"Launch readiness 1 minute" from LCC
15:57:00	+00:00:00	Launcher switches to internal inertial control
15:57:04	+00:00:04	Engine ignition; launcher lift-off
15:58:50	+00:01:50	First stage separation
16:02:09	+00:05:09	Payload fairing separation
16:02:54	+00:05:54	Second stage separation
16:13:43	+00:16:28	CryoSat-2 separation
16:13:47	+00:16:41	CryoSat S-band radio transmitter switch ON
16:14:00	+00:17:00	Malindi station: expected acquisition of signal (AOS)
16:28:11	+00:31:11	Troll station AOS
17:23:13	+01:26:13	Svalbard station AOS
17:26:31	+01:26:31	Kiruna station AOS

Note: All times subject to change Event may not happen at the precise time stated; time indicated may be start/end of a time slot The mission clock starts when the launcher switches to internal inertial control, 4 seconds before liftoff Tracking stations: Malindi (Kenya), Troll (Antarctica), Svalbard (Norway), Kiruna (Sweden) LCC: Launch Control Centre at Baikonur || AOS: acquisition of signal
Source

CryoSat-2 installed in launch silo

In readiness for launch on 8 April, ESA's CryoSat-2 ice satellite has now joined the rest of the Dnepr rocket in the launch silo at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
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Climate scientists are not usually concerned about the launch of new satellites. But at 2:57pm on 8 April, a UK-led team will be keeping everything crossed as the 140m euro CryoSat-2  satellite lifts off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Any uncharacteristic superstition will be because these scientists have tasted bitter disappointment before: five years ago, the precursor CryoSat probe crashed into the sea minutes after launch, destroying years of work in the process.
The European Space Agency (Esa) CryoSat-2 mission will provide scientists with measurements of the thickness of Arctic and Antarctic ice with an accuracy unmatched until now. Scientists will then be able to track how melting polar ice is affecting ocean currents, sea levels and the overall global climate.
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New launch date for CryoSat-2 confirmed

The technical issue with the second stage of the Dnepr rocket that delayed the launch of ESA's Earth Explorer CryoSat-2 satellite in February has now been resolved - and the new launch date of 8 April has been set.
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