KSC-05PD-1974
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. - At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, an overhead crane lowers the suspended CALIPSO spacecraft into a specially modified container (lower right) where LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) laser testing will take place. CALIPSO stands for Cloud-Aerosol LIDAR and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation. LIDAR measures distance, speed, rotation, chemical composition and concentration. CALIPSO and CloudSat will fly in formation with three other satellites in the A-train constellation to enhance understanding of our climate system. They are highly complementary satellites and together they will provide never-before-seen 3-D perspectives of how clouds and aerosols form, evolve, and affect weather and climate. Launch of CALIPSO_CloudSat aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled for 3:01 a.m. PDT Sept. 29.
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NASA ID
05pd1974
Date Created
June 8, 2005
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Photographer
NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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