Its mid-latitude orbit meant it was able to collect data about the same spot on Earth at different times of day , .
The Sun - synchronous orbits used by other scatterometer - equipped spacecraft would re-visit the same location on Earth at the same time daily .
Its mid-latitude orbit meant it was able to collect data about the same spot on Earth at different times of day , whereas the Sun - synchronous orbits used by other scatterometer - equipped spacecraft would re-visit the same location on Earth at the same time daily .