CloudSat Mission

Objectives and Applications

CloudSat uses advanced radar to "slice" through clouds to see their vertical structure, providing a completely new observational capability from space. First use of active 94 GHz radar from space to study clouds on global basis. Spacecraft orbit lowering and passivation was completed on March 20, 2024. The Mission Closeout Phase will continue until September 30, 2025, when all algorithms and reprocess will be finalized, and the final dataset archived.

Mission Summary

Full Name
CloudSat
Mission Status
Mission complete
Mission Agencies
NASA, CSA, DoD (USA)
Launch Date
28 Apr 2006
Mission Links
mission site | data access portal
EOL Date
20 Dec 2023
EO Portal Info

Orbit Details

Orbit Type
Sun-synchronous
Orbit Period
98.3 minutes
Orbit Sense
Ascending
Orbit Inclination
98.2 deg
Orbit Altitude
686 km
Orbit Longitude
Orbit LST
13:45
Repeat Cycle
NORAD Catalog #
29107 (TLE)
International Designator
2006-016A

Mission Instruments

CPR (CloudSat) - Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR)

Mission Measurements

CategoryParameterInstrument(s)
AtmosphereCloud type, amount and cloud top temperature CPR (CloudSat)
Cloud particle properties and profile CPR (CloudSat)
Liquid water and precipitation rate CPR (CloudSat)
Radiation budget CPR (CloudSat)
Atmospheric Temperature Fields CPR (CloudSat)
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