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- [Source: NASA Science Missions Home Page, http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/cloudsat ]
CloudSat uses advanced radar to "slice" through clouds to see their vertical structure, providing a completely new observational capability from space. Earlier satellites could only image the uppermost layers of clouds. CloudSat is among the first satellites to study clouds on a global basis. It will look at their structure, composition and effects. This is a cooperative mission with Canada. CloudSat measurements have applications in air quality, weather models, water management, aviation safety, and disaster management. The key observations are the vertical profiles of cloud liquid water and ice water contents and related cloud physical and radiative properties. The spacecraft payload consists of a millimeter-wave radar. CloudSat will fly in tight formation with the CALIPSO satellite carrying a backscattering lidar, and these two satellites will follow behind the Aqua satellite in a somewhat looser formation. The combination of data from the CloudSat radar with coincident measurements from CALIPSO and Aqua provides a rich source of information that can be used to assess the role of clouds in both weather and climate. CloudSat was launched on 2006-04-28 from Vandenberg AFB, California Group: Platform_Details Entry_ID: CLOUDSAT Group: Platform_Identification Platform_Category: Earth Observation Satellites Platform_Series_or_Entity: EOS (Earth Observing System) Short_Name: CLOUDSAT End_Group Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names Short_Name: CLOUDSAT End_Group Group: Platform_Associated_Instruments Short_Name: CLOUDSAT-CPR End_Group Group: Orbit Orbit_Altitude: 705 km Orbit_Inclination: 98.2 Degrees Period: 99 Minutes Repeat_Cycle: 16 Days Orbit_Type: LEO > Low Earth Orbit > Polar Sun-Synchronous End_Group Creation_Date: 2007-04-17 Online_Resource: http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/ Online_Resource: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cloudsat/main/index.html Online_Resource: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/cloudsat Sample_Image: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/126766main_cloudsat-clouds-330.jpg Group: Platform_Logistics Launch_Date: 2006-04-28 Launch_Site: VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, USA Design_Life: 22 months Primary_Sponsor: USA/NASA Primary_Sponsor: CANADA/CSA Primary_Sponsor: USA/DOD/USAF Primary_Sponsor: USA/DOE End_Group End_Group
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