| CALIPSO | |
| Mission Type: | Earth observation |
| Operator: | NASACNES |
| Cospar Id: | 2006-016A |
| Satcat: | 29108 |
| Dimensions: | 1.49x |
| Power: | 562 W |
| Launch Date: | UTC |
| Launch Rocket: | Delta 7420-10C D314 |
| Launch Site: | Vandenberg AFB SLC-2W |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric |
| Orbit Regime: | Sun-synchronous |
| Orbit Periapsis: | 701km (436miles) |
| Orbit Apoapsis: | 703km (437miles) |
| Orbit Eccentricity: | 0.0001111 |
| Orbit Semimajor: | 7080.7km (4,399.7miles) |
| Orbit Inclination: | 98.2176 degrees |
| Orbit Period: | 98.50 minutes |
| Orbit Raan: | 285.6451 degrees |
| Orbit Arg Periapsis: | 80.3481 degrees |
| Orbit Mean Anomaly: | 279.7840 degrees |
| Orbit Mean Motion: | 14.57093780 |
| Orbit Rev Number: | 40530 |
| Apsis: | gee |
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]
Three instruments:
In February 2009, CALIPSO switched over to the redundant laser as scheduled. The primary laser achieved its mission goal of three years of successful operation, and the redundant laser has been performing beyond expectations.
The CALIPSO mission was granted extended mission status in June 2009. CALIPSO moved to the C-Train in 2020. The mission ended on August 1, 2023 due to lack of propellant.[2]