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PARASOL (satellite)
PARASOL is a French -built Earth observing research satellite . It carries an instrument called POLDER which studies the radiative and microphysical properties of clouds and aerosols .
PARASOL was launched from the french spaceport in Kourou , French Guiana on December 18 , 2004 by an Ariane 5 G+. It will fly in formation in the "A Train " with several other satellites (Aqua , CALIPSO , CloudSat and Aura ). These satellites, to be joined later by NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) in 2008 , will for the first time ever combine a full suite of instruments for observing clouds and aerosols, from passive radiometers to active lidar and radar sounders.
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