ICESat

ICESat-1
Artist's rendering of the ICESat-1 satellite
NamesIce, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite
Mission typeEarth observation
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID2003-002A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.27642
WebsiteICESat
Mission duration5 years (planned)
7 years, 1 month (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
BusBCP-2000
ManufacturerBall Aerospace[1]
Launch mass970 kg (2,140 lb)
Dimensions2 × 2 × 3.1 m (6 ft 7 in × 6 ft 7 in × 10 ft 2 in)
Power640 watts
Start of mission
Launch date13 January 2003, 00:45:00 UTC[2]
RocketDelta II 7320-10
D-294
Launch siteVandenberg, SLC-2W
ContractorBoeing
Entered service2003
End of mission
DeclaredOctober 11 2009[3]
Deactivated14 August 2010, 17:37 UTC
Decay date30 August 2010, 08:49 UTC [4]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude586 km (364 mi)
Apogee altitude594 km (369 mi)
Inclination94.00°
Period96.60 minutes

ICESat mission patch
Large Strategic Science Missions
Earth Science Division
← Aqua
Aura →
← Aqua
SORCE →

ICESat (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite) was a NASA satellite mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. It operated as part of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS). ICESat was launched 13 January 2003 on a Delta II launch vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California into a near-circular, near-polar orbit with an altitude of approximately 600 km (370 mi). It operated for seven years before being retired in February 2010, after its scientific payload shut down and scientists were unable to restart it.[5]

The ICESat mission was designed to provide elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas. It provides topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. The satellite was found useful in assessing important forest characteristics, including tree density.[6]

  1. ^ "ICESat (EOS-LAM)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  2. ^ "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  3. ^ "ICESat Mission Status Report". NASA. 17 August 2010. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ "Decay Data: ICESat". Space-Track. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  5. ^ Clark, Stephen (25 February 2010). "ICESat mission complete after seven years in orbit". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  6. ^ "Space laser spies for woodpeckers". BBC News. 17 December 2010.