CloudSat
CloudSat was a NASA-led mission with Canadian participation that used a 94-GHz Cloud Profiling Radar to measure the vertical structure of clouds and their water and ice content. Launched with CALIPSO on April 28, 2006, it combined radar profiles with complementary lidar observations to improve understanding of cloud radiative effects, precipitation and storm structure. It operated in the A-Train and later the lower C-Train. Radar science ended on December 20, 2023; spacecraft shutdown and orbit-lowering activities followed in 2024. The mission's archived profiles remain valuable for evaluating weather and climate models.
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Identity
- Aliases
- CloudSatCloudSat MissionCloud Profiling Radar MissionNASA–Canada CloudSat
- Name
- CloudSat
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- CloudSat was a NASA-led mission with Canadian participation that used a 94-GHz Cloud Profiling Radar to measure the vertical structure of clouds and their water and ice content. Launched with CALIPSO on April 28, 2006, it combined radar profiles with complementary lidar observations to improve understanding of cloud radiative effects, precipitation and storm structure. It operated in the A-Train and later the lower C-Train. Radar science ended on December 20, 2023; spacecraft shutdown and orbit-lowering activities followed in 2024. The mission's archived profiles remain valuable for evaluating weather and climate models.
- Destination
- Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit at approximately 705 km altitude and 98.2° inclination (later 685–705 km C-Train orbit) for global cloud profiling with the 94-GHz Cloud Profiling Radar
- End Date
- 2023-12-20
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- Originally planned for a 22-month prime mission, CloudSat operated for more than 17 years and produced an unprecedented global record of cloud properties. Its 94-GHz radar observations revealed how frequently clouds produce rain and snow worldwide, improved understanding of tropical cyclone structure and intensification, and supplied critical data for refining weather and climate models before science operations concluded on December 20, 2023.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 2006-04-28
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cloudsat/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 14, 2026 at 12:52:02 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 29, 2026 at 15:13:01 UTC
- Image
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Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles