CALIPSO

CALIPSO

CALIPSO
Mission type Earth observation
Operator NASA / CNES
COSPAR ID 2006-016A
SATCAT № 29108
Website www-calipso.larc.nasa.gov
Mission duration ongoing
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass 587 pounds (266 kg)
Start of mission
Launch date April 28, 2006, 10:02:16 (2006-04-28UTC10:02:16Z) UTC
Rocket Delta 7420-10C D314
Launch site Vandenberg AFB SLC-2W
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Sun-synchronous
Semi-major axis 7,080.7 kilometres (4,399.7 mi)
Eccentricity 0.0001111
Perigee 701 kilometers (436 mi)
Apogee 703 kilometers (437 mi)
Inclination 98.2176 degrees
Period 98.50 minutes
RAAN 285.6451 degrees
Argument of perigee 80.3481 degrees
Mean anomaly 279.7840 degrees
Mean motion 14.57093780
Revolution number 40530

CALIPSO is a joint NASA (USA) and CNES (France) environmental satellite, built in the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center, which was launched atop a Delta II rocket on April 28, 2006. Its name stands for Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations.

Passive and active remote sensing Instruments on board the CALIPSO satellite monitor aerosols and clouds 24 hours a day. CALIPSO is part of the "A Train", flying in formation with several other satellites (Aqua, Aura and CloudSat).

Mission

Three instruments:

In February 2009, CALIPSO switched over to the redundant laser as scheduled. The primary laser achieved its mission goal of three years of successful operation, and the redundant laser has been performing beyond expectations.

The CALIPSO mission was granted extended mission status in June 2009.[1]

The Delta II rocket with CALIPSO and CloudSat on Launch Pad SLC-2W, VAFB.

See also

References

External links

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