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Argos
Gauging variations in ocean temperature, currents and salinity, monitoring volcanic activity, measuring changes in Arctic sea ice, tracking wildlife migration and helping to manage shipping are just some of the applications supported by the Argos spaceborne location and data collection system, named after the 100-eyed Greek mythological giant Argus (Argos in French). The Argos system consists of radiotransmitters fitted on anything that needs to be tracked, from a boat or buoy to an animal, bird, cetacean, turtle or even a mountain peak. These radiotransmitters emit signals received by Argos instruments orbiting Earth on several satellites. The signals are recorded and then downlinked to a processing centre.
Instigated in 1978 by CNES and the U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Argos is today operated worldwide by CNES subsidiary CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellite). CNES is the Argos system architect and oversees development of its ground and space components. The spaceborne Argos instruments are built by Thales Airborne Systems (TAS). Since 1978, there have been three generations of Argos instruments. A fourth-generation instrument is scheduled to enter service in 2015.
Mission's news feed
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France-United States space cooperation Speech at the Washington Space Business Roundtable Congressional briefing on the Argos programme
CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall was invited to the Washington Space Business Roundtable on Friday 29 April to give a presentation on France’s space strategy. In the morning, he...
May 3, 2016
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CNES fetes 30th anniversary of its subsidiary CLS in Toulouse
CNES’s subsidiary CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites), the satellite operator and world-leading supplier of satellite-based Earth-observation products and services, yesterday...
April 8, 2016
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Sea elephant oceanographers: a 10-year success story
For the last 10 years, more than 200 elephant seals have been patrolling the southern seas wearing some strange headgear: an Argos transmitter instrumented with temperature,...
May 7, 2013