CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MISSION SUMMARY - CloudSat -
Full Name CloudSat 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 NORAD Catalog # 29107 (TLE)
International Designator 2006-016A
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
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 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)
Mission Instruments
CPR (CloudSat) - Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR)
OpenSearch Datasets Selected IDN OpenSearch Results (search all 18 )
2D-CloudSat-TRMM Product
AIRS-AMSU variables-CloudSat cloud mask, radar reflectivities, and cloud classification matchups V3. ...
AIRS-CloudSat cloud mask and radar reflectivities collocation indexes V4.0 (AIRS_CPR_IND) at GES_DIS ...
AIRS-CloudSat cloud mask, radar reflectivities, and cloud classification matchups V3.2 (AIRS_CPR_MAT ...
CERES A-Train Integrated CALIPSO, CloudSat, CERES, and MODIS (CCCM) Merged Release B1
CERES A-Train Integrated CALIPSO, CloudSat, CERES, and MODIS (CCCM) Merged Release D1
CERES A-Train Integrated CALIPSO, CloudSat, CERES, and MODIS (CCCM) Merged Release D2
CloudSat 1B-CPR product version 008
CloudSat 2B-CLDCLASS product version 009
Cloudsat 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR product version 003

Selected FedEO OpenSearch Results (view all 4 results: browser , table )
CPR Cloud Properties DARDAR-CLOUD L2. CLIMATE APPLICATIONS:
CPR Cloud Properties DARDAR-CLOUD L2. CLIMATE APPLICATIONS:
CALIOP Aerosol Properties SODA L2. CLIMATE APPLICATIONS:
CALIOP Aerosol Properties SODA L3 (daily). CLIMATE APPLICATIONS:

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