The Journal of Space Commerce

The Journal of Space Commerce

First Long-Duration Lidar Satellite Mission CALIPSO Ends

Advanced Understanding of Climate, Weather and Air Quality

Tom Patton's avatar
Tom Patton
Sep 29, 2023
∙ Paid
Share

CALIPSO, a lidar satellite that advanced the world’s understanding of climate, weather, and air quality, ended its scientific mission on Aug. 1, 2023.

“We had to build, for the first time, a sophisticated lidar capable of operating in space.”
Chip Trepte, NASA

Across 17 years of operation, the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observat…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The Journal of Space Commerce to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Ex Terra Media, LLC
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture