 CALIPSO | |
| Mission type | Earth observation |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA / CNES |
| COSPAR ID | 2006-016A |
| SATCAT no. | 29108 |
| Website | www-calipso |
| Mission duration | 18 years |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 587 kilograms (1,294 lb) |
| Dimensions | 1.49 m × 1.84 m × 2.31 m (4.9 ft × 6.0 ft × 7.6 ft) |
| Power | 562 W |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | April 28, 2006, 10:02:16 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 altitude | 701 kilometers (436 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 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 no. | 40530 |
CALIPSO was a joint NASA (US) 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. CALIPSO launched alongside CloudSat.
Contents
Passive and active remote sensing instruments on board the CALIPSO satellite monitored aerosols and clouds 24 hours a day. CALIPSO was part of the "C-Train" alongside CloudSat, orbiting on a similar track to the "A-Train." The mission ended on August 1, 2023 after over 17 years. Final passivation occurred on December 15, 2023. [1]
