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Cloudsat

Launch Successful

Launch Details

Date: 28 Apr 2006, 10:02 am UTC

Rocket: Delta II (Delta)

Provider: United States Air Force

Mission

Type: Earth Science

Orbit: Medium Earth Orbit

Pad: Space Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Mission Description

CloudSat is a satellite which uses millimeter-wavelength radar to measure the altitude and properties of clouds. Advanced cloud-profiling radar gathers information on the vertical structure of highly dynamic cloud systems. This new information provides the first global measurements of cloud properties that will help scientists compile a database of cloud measurements to improve how clouds are represented in global climate and numerical weather prediction models.