# Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01)
*sensor . products*

First Shuttle Laser Altimeter experiment. Flew on STS-72 (Space Shuttle Endeavour, January 1996). 1064 nm lidar demonstrating spaceborne laser altimetry techniques.

## Specifications
- **product status**: retired
- **deployment context**: orbital
- **manufacturer**: nasa
- **sensor**: {"instrument_family":"lidar","measurement_principle":"active","wavelength_nm":1064,"return_type":"full-waveform","notes":"SLA-01 (Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1) flew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-72, January 1996. Technology demonstration for spaceborne laser altimetry; predecessor to ICESat GLAS. Built by NASA GSFC."}
- **entity type**: sensor
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-04
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: unclaimed
- **provider**: nasa
- **attributes**: {"kind":"sensor","product_status":"retired","deployment_context":"orbital","manufacturer":"nasa","description":"First Shuttle Laser Altimeter experiment. Flew on STS-72 (Space Shuttle Endeavour, January 1996). 1064 nm lidar demonstrating spaceborne laser altimetry techniques.","sensor":"{\"instrument_family\":\"lidar\",\"measurement_principle\":\"active\",\"wavelength_nm\":1064,\"return_type\":\"full-waveform\",\"notes\":\"SLA-01 (Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1) flew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-72, January 1996. Technology demonstration for spaceborne laser altimetry; predecessor to ICESat GLAS. Built by NASA GSFC.\"}"}
- **technology**: lidar

## Editorial
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[^sla-ntrs-pathfinder] and as January 11-20, 1996 in the GSFC mission results publication.[^sla-gsfc-results] An orbital altitude of approximately 310 km and inclination of 28.45 degrees are reported in the GSFC results documentation.[^sla-gsfc-results] 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.[^sla-ntrs-pathfinder]

## Compositional position
- sts-72 (missions) --[mission_payloads]--> Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01)
- sla-02 (products) --[related]--> Shuttle Laser Altimeter 1 (SLA-01)

## Sources
- [sla-ntrs-pathfinder] | Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA): A pathfinder for space-based laser altimetry and lidar - NASA NTRS | https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19960003752 | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-04
- [sla-gsfc-results] | SHUTTLE LASER ALTIMETER Mission Results and Pathfinder Accomplishments - NASA GSFC | https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19990087525/downloads/19990087525.pdf | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-04
- [sla-researchgate] | Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA): A pathfinder for space-based laser altimetry and lidar - ResearchGate | https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234428552_Shuttle_Laser_Altimeter_SLA_A_pathfinder_for_space-based_laser_altimetry_and_lidar | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-04

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/sla-01
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)