Subscribe with SteadyVCL (ESSP 1)
VCL [NASA]
VCL (Vegetation Canopy Lidar) was a mission in NASA's ESSP program to provide the first global inventory of the vertical structure of forests across Earth using a multibeam laser-ranging device. The mission was to enable direct measurement of tree heights, forest canopy structure, and derived parameters such as global biomass with at least ten times better accuracy than existing assessments.
VCL has been delayed and finally cancelled due to problems with the science payload. The completed bus was reused for the GLORY satellite. The Athena-1 launch vehicle was used to launch the "Kodiak Star" (Starshine 3, PICOSat, PCSat 1, SAPPHIRE) mission.
| Nation: | USA |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Earth Observation, Lidar |
| Operator: | NASA |
| Contractors: | Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) |
| Equipment: | MBLA (Multi-Beam Laser Altimeter) |
| Configuration: | LEOStar |
| Propulsion: | |
| Power: | 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries |
| Lifetime: | |
| Mass: | 420 kg (250 kg dry) |
| Orbit: | 400 km, 67° |
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCL (ESSP 1) | - | cancelled | Kd LP-1 | Athena-1 | → Glory |
Launch Sites:
- Kd = Kodiak Launch Complex, Kodiak Island, Narrow Cape, Alaska, USA
References:
Further ESSP missions:
- VCL (ESSP 1) - cancelled
- GRACE (ESSP 2)
- CALIPSO (ESSP 3)
- Cloudsat (ESSP 4)
- OCO, OCO 2 (ESSP 5)
- Aquarius (ESSP 6)
- Hydros (ESSP 7) - cancelled
- OCO 3 (ESSP 8)
- CYGNSS (ESSP EVM1)
- GeoCARB (ESSP EVM2) - cancelled
- INCUS (ESSP EVM3)
