EO·Atlas
Shuttle Laser Altimeter 2 (SLA-02)
Second Shuttle Laser Altimeter experiment. Flew on STS-85 (Space Shuttle Discovery, August 1997). 1064 nm lidar demonstrating spaceborne laser altimetry for vegetation and terrain mapping.
The Shuttle Laser Altimeter 2 (SLA-02) is a spaceborne lidar instrument built by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. It flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during mission STS-85 in August 1997, operating at 1064 nm (Nd:YAG) and recording full-waveform returns. SLA-02 was the second flight of the Shuttle Laser Altimeter series, following SLA-01, and demonstrated spaceborne laser ranging over vegetation canopy and terrain.[1][2][3][4]
STS-85 operated at an average orbital altitude of approximately 278 km with 51.6-degree inclination.[1] The instrument recorded full-waveform lidar returns used to characterise ground elevation and canopy height. SLA-02 has not flown since STS-85 concluded in August 1997.
Compositional position
None on record.
- [1]Shuttle Flight STS-85 - eoPortal Directorycommunity2026-06-05
- [2]Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA): A pathfinder for space-based laser altimetry and lidar, NTRS 19960003752agency doc2026-06-05
- [3]SLA-02 Shuttle Laser Altimeter II First Science Results - NASA GSFCagency doc2026-06-05
- [4]SLA-02 Shuttle Laser Altimeter II - NASA GSFCagency doc2026-06-05