Two Weather Satellites About to Launch

Fraser · #1 (**permalink**) 16-September-2005, 05:12 PM

SUMMARY: NASA has two new Earth Observation satellites in the final stages of preparation before their launch: CloudSat and Calipso. The two satellites will be launched together by a Boeing Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. They will be launched into a polar orbit, and maintain a close formation. CloudSat has an extremely powerful cloud-profiling radar, which can distinguish between cloud particles and precipitation. Calipso will be able to detect aerosol particles in the air, and can tell the difference between these particles and clouds to measure the amount of air pollution. They may launch as soon as October 26.

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Blob · #2 (**permalink**) 05-July-2006, 11:06 PM

A Delta II Stage 2 Rocket Body launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the 28th April, 2006, for the CALIPSO & CloudSat mission, is predicted to re-enter the Earths atmosphere on the 6th July @ 13:30 UTC ± 6 hours.

TLE Data

^{DELTA 2 R/B

1 29109U 06016C 06186.89487448 .07791507 61268-5 31961-3 0 1659

2 29109 102.7605 185.8083 0048426 253.4093 106.2081 16.36519506 10750

1 29109U 06016C 06186.52751368 .04398953 61174-5 29894-3 0 1646

2 29109 102.7582 185.0771 0057532 252.6858 106.8124 16.32180992 10694

1 29109U 06016C 06186.46619959 .04127473 61137-5 29787-3 0 1634

2 29109 102.7583 184.9556 0058653 252.8127 106.6772 16.31667835 10681

1 29109U 06016C 06186.22088257 .03287925 60907-5 32997-3 0 1627

2 29109 102.7544 184.4691 0061745 252.6537 107.5795 16.29521258 10648

1 29109U 06016C 06185.85205810 .02340777 60750-5 33143-3 0 1614

2 29109 102.7609 183.7371 0067271 254.3248 105.0624 16.26901131 10581}

Blob · #3 (**permalink**) 24-July-2006, 11:08 PM

The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation spacecraft known as CALIPSO is returning never-before-seen images of clouds and aerosols, tiny particles suspended in the air.
These new images are revealing the secrets of how clouds and aerosols form, evolve and interact with the atmosphere. CALIPSO's first images were taken in early June. They highlight the results of a major lava dome collapse at the Soufriere Hills Volcano on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean. The dome collapse on May 20 involved an explosion that sent ash clouds 55,000 feet into the sky.

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Attachment 2

Quote:

The first images from NASA's new CloudSat satellite are already revealing never-before-seen 3-D details about clouds.
Mission managers tested the flight and ground system performance of the satellite's Cloud-Profiling Radar in late May, and found it to be working perfectly.

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Credit NASA

Blob · #4 (**permalink**) 03-October-2006, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Scientists around the world can now glimpse inside Earth’s storms with the instruments aboard two Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. (Boulder, Colorado.) Earth-observation missions launched earlier this year.
The CloudSat and CALIPSO satellites launched on April 28 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California have now completed commissioning activities.

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