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.
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 11, 2023.[1]