EO·Atlas
Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01)
First Shuttle Laser Altimeter experiment. Flew on STS-72 (Space Shuttle Endeavour, January 1996). 1064 nm lidar demonstrating spaceborne laser altimetry techniques.
The Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01) was a 1064 nm full-waveform lidar built by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to demonstrate spaceborne laser altimetry techniques. It flew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on mission STS-72. Mission dates are given as January 1996 in the NTRS pathfinder paper[1] and as January 11-20, 1996 in the GSFC mission results publication.[2] An orbital altitude of approximately 310 km and inclination of 28.45 degrees are reported in the GSFC results documentation.[2] SLA-01 measured surface elevation over a range of terrain types including tropical forest canopy and geological surfaces, producing waveform data that demonstrated the feasibility of ranging to Earth's surface from orbit. The mission served as a pathfinder for subsequent spaceborne laser altimetry, and the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on ICESat carried the technique into operational science.[1]
Pricing not publicly listed by operator
Supply chain position
None on record.
- [1]Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA): A pathfinder for space-based laser altimetry and lidar - NASA NTRSagency doc2026-06-04
- [2]SHUTTLE LASER ALTIMETER Mission Results and Pathfinder Accomplishments - NASA GSFCagency doc2026-06-04
- [3]Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA): A pathfinder for space-based laser altimetry and lidar - ResearchGatecommunity2026-06-04
How to cite this page
Plain text
Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01). EO-Atlas, SpectraWorks B.V. https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/sla-01 (CC BY 4.0)
BibTeX
@misc{eoatlas:products:sensor:sla-01,
title = {Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01)},
author = {{EO-Atlas}},
publisher = {SpectraWorks B.V.},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
url = {https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/sla-01}
}