At 14 metres high – as high as a six-floor building – the Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) satellite is a large. The reflector alone is eight metres wide when it unfolds after launch. The satellite features a particular platform that carries, powers and manages the rotating microwave radiometer that is at the top and which transfers the scientific data to Earth. It is equipped with a scanner that allows the 700 kg microwave radiometer instrument to rotate at 8 rpm. Once in orbit, the satellite deploys its reflector, which measures eight metres in diameter. The whole satellite weighs 2000 kg.
CIMR is designed to measure sea-surface temperature, sea-ice concentration, sea-surface salinity, and more.