In the standard mission the low-low Geopotential Research Mission (GRM) pair fly close coplanar orbits in tandem at nearly constant distance and with a fixed mutual orientation for extended periods of time. Sensitivity to the gravity field is predominantly along-track at a single altitude. Increased geopotential accuracy and discrimination can be obtained in other configurations for which radial and cross-track information are also sensed strongly. One such configuration which is only a small change from the standard has the pair flying en echelon in slightly different orbit planes. The addition of cross-track information in this approach is shown to yield considerable improvement in the geopotential, especially in near-sectorial terms. Overall field accuracy is estimated to almost double with plane separations of only a few tenths of a degree (permitting fixed antenna operation). Many near-sectorial terms show gains of up to an order of magnitude over the equivalent standard mission. These benefits are particularly important for low-degree terms (l⟨6) expected to show significant changes in the GRM lifetime due to past and present glacial activity. ¿ American Geophysical Union