[40], ESA satellite intended to map in the Earth's gravity field. Thanks to gravity and magnetic data from satellites along with seismology, scientists are on the way to modelling inner Earth in 3D. To achieve the above at a spatial resolution better than 100 km. This extraordinary mission not only yielded new insights into our gravity field, but led to some amazing discoveries about our planet, from deep below the surface to high up in the atmosphere and beyond. GOCE was launched into a Sun-synchronous dusk-dawn orbit with an inclination of 96.7° and an ascending node at 18:00. Major changes in the setup of the FOS had to be implemented to guarantee satellite safety, including reinforcing the FCT. The data is freely available to registered users. Launch: 17 March 2009 (Rockot, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in north-western Russia) End: 21 October 2013 (re-entry occurred on 11 November 2013) To maximise the scientific return of the mission prior to its end of life, in summer 2012 ESA started a campaign to gradually lower the orbit of GOCE even further, which is expected to bring tremendous improvements in the quality of the gravity measurements. GOCE employs a drag-free attitude and orbit control system using an ion propulsion engine for continuous, closed-loop counteraction of the drag caused by Earth's atmosphere.

[14] Detailed analysis of GOCE's thruster and accelerometer data serendipitously revealed that it had detected the infrasound waves generated by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake (whereupon it inadvertently became the first seismograph in orbit).

Routine operations consist of a weekly planning and uplink of the operations timeline covering all activities to be carried out, with the science data downlinked during regular ground station passes. [7] The dual Kaufman-type ion thrusters could produce up to 20 millinewtons (0.0045 lbf) of thrust. Although invisible, gravity is a complex force of nature that has an immeasurable impact on our everyday lives. This model served the following multi-disciplinary scientific objectives: ESA Workshop on Swarm Ionospheric Currents Products, 4th Swarm Science Meeting & Geodetic Missions Workshop, Definition of Dataset and Product Baseline, Data Quality: Current Dataset and History, SSTI A/B Antenna Phase Center Variations (ANTEX), Earth Explorer Ground Segment File Format Standard, GOCE Gradiometer Calibration and L1b Data Processing [EWP-2384-2012], GOCE impact of re-processed Level 1b data on gravity field products), GOCE Level-1B Gravity Gradient Processing Algorithms, 5th International GOCE User Workshop 2014, 1st International GOCE Solid Earth Workshop Proceedings, 4th International GOCE User Workshop 2011, Provided gravity gradients in the gradiometer reference frame, Satellite-to-Satellite Tracking Instrument, Provided GPS observations of the GOCE orbit, Passive optical reflector; enabled satellite laser ranging by ground-based stations, GaAs triple junction cells with maximum power point tracker, 1600 W EOL; battery 78 Ah, 4 Gbit solid state recorder; up to 72h of data.
The GOCEXML2ASCII parser is a very fast and memory-efficient XML to ASCII converter for GOCE Level-2 EGG_NOM and SST_PSO data. Additionally, an ion propulsion system continuously compensated for the variable deceleration due to air drag without the vibration of a conventional chemically powered rocket engine, thus limiting the errors in gravity gradient measurements caused by non-gravitational forces and restoring the path of the craft as closely as possible to a purely inertial trajectory. To minimise internal disturbances, the satellite does not include any moving parts. Three weeks later, on 11 November, the satellite disintegrated in the lower atmosphere.
[25], In November 2012 the orbit was lowered from 255 to 235 km (158 to 146 mi) to get higher resolution data, at which time fuel remained for another 50 weeks.[26].

In case of contingencies, KSAT's Toll station in Antarctica is used for providing additional visibility.