CRYO2ICE is a joint ESA-NASA initiative that leverages the complementary capabilities of CryoSat-2’s Ku-band radar altimeter (SIRAL) and ICESat-2’s lidar (ATLAS) to enhance measurements of the cryosphere. The satellites operate in rather different orbits: they share a similar inclination of about 92 deg but their semi-major axis differ by roughly 240 km. This difference limits the number of natural ground-track alignments, and, consequently, the opportunities for coincident instrument footprints.
 
In July 2020, CryoSat-2’s semi-major axis was raised by nearly 900 m to establish an orbital resonance with ICESat-2. This solution enabled repeatable alignments of their instrument footprints every 19th CryoSat-2 revolutions and 20th ICESat-2 revolutions, despite their differering orbital period. The resulting coincident tracks may extend up to approximately 2200 kilometres in length but occur only within specific geographical regions. Since both missions focus primarily on the polar regions, maximising footprint overlap over either the Arctic or the Antarctic requires controlling CryoSat-2’s orbital phase. As a result, several campaigns have been executed in both hemispheres: an initial Arctic configuration in 2020, a switch to Antarctic phasing in June 2022, and a return to an Arctic configuration in July 2025, each supported by their associated manoeuvre campaign.
 
This paper presents the analysis and operations associated with the latest transition from Antarctic to Arctic configuration. The study begins with an evaluation of the relative inclination evolution of the two orbits, which affects the geometry of the coincidences and serves as an input to the optimisation of the target orbital phase. The resulting value defines the required target to achieve the optimal footprint overlap in the Arctic. The paper then describes the design of the manoeuvre campaign to reach the target orbital phase, accounting for operational constraints such as limited thrust capability and potential manoeuvre mis-performances. In July 2025, the manoeuvre campaign was successfully executed proving the robustness of the selected strategy and providing a framework applicable to similar future operations.