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NASA Gets Cloud Satellites Off The Ground
Vandenberg AFB CA (SPX) Apr 28, 2006 After a week of postponements, NASA launched its CloudSat and CALIPSO missions Friday. Originally scheduled for liftoff April 21, the twin satellite mission had experienced inclement weather, unavailability of refueling aircraft and a faulty temperature sensor. This time, however, the Delta II rocket carrying the two satellites lifted off at 3:02 a.m. Pacific Time without a hitch. CALIPSO and CloudSat are designed to provide a three-dimensional perspective on Earth's clouds and aerosols, and to study how clouds and the airborne particles form, evolve and affect water supply, climate, weather and air quality. CloudSat's cloud-profiling radar is more than 1,000 times more sensitive than typical weather radar. It can detect clouds and distinguish between cloud particles and precipitation. CALIPSO - which stands for Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation - carries an instrument that can detect aerosol particles and can distinguish between aerosol and cloud particles. "With the high resolution observation that CALIPSO will provide, we will get a better understanding of aerosol transport and how our climate system works," said David Winker, the mission's principal investigator at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Mission plans call for the satellites to be launched into a 705-kilometer (438-mile) circular, Sun-synchronous polar orbit, where they will fly in formation just 15 seconds apart as members of NASA's A-Train constellation, which includes three other Earth Observing System satellites. A-Train includes NASA's Aqua and Aura satellites and France's Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with observations from a Lidar satellite. Mission managers think the data from CloudSat, CALIPSO and the other A-Train satellites will be much more useful when combined. Their measurements should improve insights into the global distribution and evolution of clouds, and lead to better weather forecasting and climate prediction. Related Links Calipso CloudSat
Cloud Satellite Launch Suffers One More Delay
Vandenberg Air Force Base CA (SPX) Apr 27, 2006NASA on Thursday ordered the sixth postponement of the launch of its CloudSat and CALIPSO missions, this time due to an equipment problem. |
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