ICESat (Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite)
A NASA satellite designed to accurately measure the elevations of Earth's
ice sheets, clouds, and land, and help answer fundamental questions about
the growth or retreat of Earth's polar ice sheets and future global sea
level changes. ICESat also measures the heights of clouds for studies of
Earth's temperature balance, and measure land topography for a variety of
scientific and potential commercial applications. Its primary instrument
is a laser altimeter, developed at the Goddard Space Flight Center, which
works by transmitting short pulses of infrared light and visible-green light.
The distance from the spacecraft to clouds and to Earth's surface is determined
from measurements of the time taken for the laser pulses to travel to and
from these targets. Formerly known as EOS Laser Alt-1, ICESat is part of
NASA's EOS (Earth Observation System). It was
launched on Jan. 13, 2003, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, into a 606-km-high
orbit with an inclination of 94°. Its primary laser, one of three lasers
onboard, failed because of a design flaw just 36 days after being turned
on. However, ICESat is now operational and returning valuable data.
Related category
• SATELLITES
AND SPACE PROBES
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