CLOUDSAT
Country: United States
Live Position
Ground Track · Last 90 Minutes
Upcoming Passes · Over Your Location
About This Satellite
CloudSat launched on April 28, 2006 to investigate the vertical structure of clouds. Its Cloud Profiling Radar operated at a frequency of 94 GHz and looked downward toward Earth. Rather than supplying only a view of cloud tops, the mission helped researchers study how cloud material was distributed through the atmosphere.
A radar profile is a slice, not a hemispheric picture
NASA lists a vertical resolution of about 500 metres for the radar. This describes its ability to distinguish structure with height; it does not mean that every point within 500 metres of the ground track was observed. A vertical cloud section and a broad weather-camera image answer different questions about the same atmosphere.
The archive continued after new observations stopped
Science observations ended on December 20, 2023, and the mission was retired in 2024. Archived profiles remain valuable for research, but an orbit shown here does not announce a resumed radar service. Disposal manoeuvres and eventual atmospheric reentry should also be distinguished from the end of science collection.
Mission reference: NASA: CloudSat mission and Cloud Profiling Radar. Editorial review: .
Daylight-only operations were a power constraint
NASA's engineering lesson documents the 2011 battery anomaly and the recovery to daylight-only operations. The restriction was an energy-management response, not evidence that the radar needed visible sunlight to see clouds. Spacecraft survival through eclipse and the electrical demand of the payload had to be managed together.
Reference: NASA Lessons Learned: CloudSat battery anomaly and recovery.
Radar and lidar made complementary cloud sections
NASA's mission retrospective describes CloudSat working alongside CALIPSO, whose lidar provided a different view of clouds and aerosols. Combining the two helped reveal structures one instrument alone could miss. This was a coordinated scientific comparison, not two satellites sending interchangeable pictures; users still need the matching observation times and product-specific quality information.
Reference: NASA: CloudSat science legacy and CALIPSO partnership.
Reading this orbital snapshot
Based on TLE epoch: 2026-09-05. Estimated altitude ranges from 604 km at perigee to 613 km at apogee, a difference of 9 km. The orbital period is about 96.9 minutes. Eccentricity 0.00065 indicates a nearly circular path. In a two-body approximation, perigee speed is 1.00 times apogee speed. These are mean-element estimates, not instantaneous measurements. Distance per orbit uses an ellipse approximation.
Saved build snapshot. If a valid TLE is retrieved, this explanation and the orbit panel update together. Otherwise this dated snapshot is retained.
Ground track is not sensor coverage
An inclination of 98.39 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 81.6 degrees north and south. This is a retrograde orbit, moving against the direction of Earth rotation. The plotted line marks the point beneath the object. It does not represent camera coverage, radio reception, or a guaranteed visible pass.
Accuracy and missing information
The introductory record describes the build snapshot. The orbital snapshot explanation and orbit panel share any successfully retrieved TLE; check the displayed epoch. Reentered objects retain historical data only. Mission history is not rewritten by TLE updates. TLE/SGP4 positions are predictions and can change after maneuvers or updated observations. The 14-day stale-data cutoff is a display safeguard, not an accuracy guarantee. Local passes are geometric predictions, not a visibility forecast. No verified operator or mission status means unknown, not active. Do not use this catalog for collision avoidance or operational flight decisions.
Catalog sources: CelesTrak SATCAT: NORAD 29107 · GCAT: S29107 (source update 2026 Sep 4 2345:57). Supplementary metadata: SatNOGS DB, retrieved 2026-09-05T12:57:25.375Z. Page assembled 2026-09-15. GCAT phase codes describe trajectory phases, not mission health.
Learn more: TLE data · Perigee and apogee · Ground tracks · JOT (Jewawud Live Orbital Map)