missions

STS-72 (Space Shuttle Endeavour)

STS-72 was a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission flown January 11-20, 1996, operated by NASA. Its primary science payload was the Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01), a 1064 nm pulsed laser altimeter designed to measure surface elevation and vegetation canopy structure from orbit. SLA-01 was a pathfinder for space-based laser altimetry within a planned multi-flight SLA series.^[1]^[2] The mission flew at 28.45 degrees inclination. Orbit altitude is recorded as 296 km in mission records^[1]; NASA mission documentation lists 250 nautical miles (approximately 463 km),^[3] with the discrepancy unresolved against primary ephemeris data.

Supply chain position

carries instrument Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01)

operated by National Aeronautics and Space Administration

launched on Nasa Space Shuttle

Spaceborne LiDAR altimetry → demonstrated Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01)

Sources

[1]Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA): A pathfinder for space-based laser altimetry and lidar - NASA NTRSagency doc2026-06-05
[2]SHUTTLE LASER ALTIMETER Mission Results and Pathfinder Accomplishments - NASA GSFCagency doc2026-06-05
[3]STS-72 Mission Overview - NASAagency doc2026-06-05

Cite https://eo-atlas.org/missions/sts-72 Markdown twin → Field definitions → Suggest a correction →

How to cite this page

Plain text

STS-72 (Space Shuttle Endeavour). EO-Atlas, SpectraWorks B.V. https://eo-atlas.org/missions/sts-72 (CC BY 4.0)

BibTeX

@misc{eoatlas:missions:sts-72,
  title = {STS-72 (Space Shuttle Endeavour)},
  author = {{EO-Atlas}},
  publisher = {SpectraWorks B.V.},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
  url = {https://eo-atlas.org/missions/sts-72}
}