NASA will launch the CloudSat and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) spacecraft to study the role that clouds and aerosols play in regulating Earth's weather, climate and air quality. Launch is planned for no earlier than September 29, 2005 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle. The satellites will be launched into a 705-kilometer (438-mile) circular sun-synchronous polar orbit, and will fly in orbital formation as part of the "A-Train" constellation of three other Earth Observing satellites including Aqua, Aura and Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales' (CNES) PARASOL. Together, the A-Train satellites will substantially increase our understanding of the climate system and the potential for climate change. The CloudSat mission funded lifetime is 22 months to enable more than one seasonal cycle to be observed, although the radar lifetime is expected to approach three years. CALIPSO is planned for three years of on-orbit operation.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cloudsat/main/index.html
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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cloudsat/launch/vlcc_042106.html