Colorado State Programs & People

First CloudSat Satellite Images Arrive

Published June 2006

CloudSat, the cloud-profiling satellite developed by Colorado State atmospheric sciences researchers in partnership with NASA and other agencies, successfully took its first pictures on Saturday, June 3.

Satellite image of olar night storm near Antarctica.

Satellite image of polar night storm near Antarctica. To view the CloudSat cross-sectional image, click here.

Early images include a cross-sectional look at a warm storm front over the North Sea, a storm over east Africa, and pictures of snowfall over Antarctica - the first ever taken during this time of year because the continent is currently in darkness.

Colorado State atmospheric science researcher Graeme Stephens is the principal investigator for the $217 million project launched on April 28. The groundbreaking project consists of five satellites flying in formation 438 miles above the Earth.

CSU provides scientific leadership and science data processing and distribution. Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., designed and built the spacecraft.


Additional information:

Media coverage

  • CloudSat satellites allow scientists to "see inside the clouds"
    USA Today (6/9/2006)
    "For the first time we're seeing inside the clouds," said Graeme Stephens, a Colorado State University atmospheric sciences professor and the principal investigator for the CloudSat project. "We can see tropical storms 15 kilometers deep organized on scales of thousands of kilometers across."

  • CloudSat System Offers View Inside Clouds
    Houston Chronicle (6/9/2006)
    "For the first time we're seeing inside the clouds," said Graeme Stephens, a Colorado State University atmospheric sciences professor and the principal investigator for the CloudSat project. "We can see tropical storms 15 kilometers deep organized on scales of thousands of kilometers across."

  • CloudSat System Offers View Inside Clouds
    CBS (6/9/2006)
    CloudSat, a formation of five satellites launched April 28, was developed by CSU researchers in conjunction with other agencies to determine the moisture content of clouds, in the hope of developing long-term precipitation models.

  • CloudSat System Offers View Inside Clouds
    Forbes (6/9/2006)
    "For the first time we're seeing inside the clouds," said Graeme Stephens, a Colorado State University atmospheric sciences professor and the principal investigator for the CloudSat project. "We can see tropical storms 15 kilometers deep organized on scales of thousands of kilometers across."

  • CloudSat System Offers Views of Storms
    Washington Post (6/9/2006)
    "For the first time we're seeing inside the clouds," said Graeme Stephens, a Colorado State University atmospheric sciences professor and the principal investigator for the CloudSat project. "We can see tropical storms 15 kilometers deep organized on scales of thousands of kilometers across."

  • CloudSat system offers views of storms
    San Jose Mercury News (6/9/2006)
    CloudSat, a formation of five satellites launched April 28, was developed by CSU researchers in conjunction with other agencies to determine the moisture content of clouds, in the hope of developing long-term precipitation models.

  • CloudSat System Offers Views of Storms
    New York Post (6/9/2006)
    "For the first time we're seeing inside the clouds," said Graeme Stephens, a Colorado State University atmospheric sciences professor and the principal investigator for the CloudSat project. "We can see tropical storms 15 kilometers deep organized on scales of thousands of kilometers across."


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