Recently, the Space Systems Command launched the Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base, which will continue the legacy of space-based environmental monitoring initiated by CloudSat.
Originating from the Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Support Complex at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, CloudSat was a collaborative effort involving multiple agencies, including the DoD Space Test Program, USAF, USSF, Canadian Space Agency, U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility, Colorado State University's Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The satellite's cloud-profiling radar was pivotal in examining the vertical structure of clouds, providing detailed insights into cloud composition and playing a crucial role in climate research. The operations team at RSC, in collaboration with NASA, was responsible for the satellite's control, monitoring, and data dissemination to Colorado State University's Data Processing Center.
Col. Joe Roth, director of the Innovation and Prototyping Acquisition Delta, expressed pride in the mission's achievements, stating, "CloudSat has been a monumental success from the start. Its legacy will endure through the scientific insights it has provided, which will continue to benefit climate understanding and weather forecasting."
Launched on April 28, 2006, via a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg, CloudSat concluded its operational phase on March 20, 2024, and is set to deorbit and disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere by 2049.
For more details and visuals from the CloudSat mission, visit NASA JPL's online Photojournal: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/targetFamily/Earth?subselect=Spacecraft%3ACloudSat%3A
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