# CATS ISS deployment
*missions*

## Specifications
- **operator**: nasa
- **current status**: ended
- **actual launch**: 2015-01-10
- **actual end of life**: 2017-10-30
- **orbit type**: ISS orbit, about 407 km altitude, 51.6 degree inclination, non-sun-synchronous
- **tasking supported**: false
- **entity type**: mission
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-05
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: nasa
- **attributes**: {"operator":"nasa","current_status":"ended","actual_launch":"2015-01-10","actual_end_of_life":"2017-10-30","orbit_type":"ISS orbit, about 407 km altitude, 51.6 degree inclination, non-sun-synchronous","tasking_supported":false}
- **relevance**: ancillary

## Editorial
CATS ISS deployment was the operational period of the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) aboard the International Space Station, running from January 2015 to October 2017. CATS launched on SpaceX Dragon CRS-5 on January 10, 2015 and was installed on the Japanese Experiment Module External Facility (JEM-EF) on January 22, 2015. Operated by NASA GSFC, CATS was a multi-wavelength elastic backscatter and high-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL) designed to profile cloud layers, aerosols, and smoke from the ISS vantage point. It carried three laser wavelengths (1064, 532, and 1064 nm for HSRL mode on Laser 2) and drew on heritage from CALIPSO for retrieval algorithms and calibration methodology. The ISS orbit, at approximately 400-415 km altitude and 51.6 degrees inclination in non-sun-synchronous configuration, gave CATS a wider latitudinal swath than CALIPSO and access to diverse atmospheric regimes for aerosol transport studies. CATS operated until October 30, 2017.[^cats-gsfc-homepage][^cats-iss-eoportal][^cats-ntrs-2012]

## Compositional position
- CATS ISS deployment --[mission_payloads]--> cats-iss (products)
- CATS ISS deployment --[related]--> calipso (missions)

## Sources
- [cats-gsfc-homepage] | CATS Cloud-Aerosol Transport System homepage, NASA GSFC | https://cats.gsfc.nasa.gov/ | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-05
- [cats-iss-eoportal] | CATS ISS deployment - eoPortal Directory | https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/iss-cats | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-05
- [cats-ntrs-2012] | The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS): A New Lidar for Aerosol and Cloud Profiling from ISS - NTRS | https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20120011858 | tier=peer-reviewed | accessed=2026-06-05

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/missions/cats-iss-deployment
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)