How LITE Data Were Acquired During the Mission
Three types of data were acquired by the LITE instrument:
- Single-shot full resolution digitized lidar signals for the three wavelengths, 355 nm, 532 nm, and 1064 nm
- Instrument status data, formatted as the Instrument Status Data Block (ISDB)
- Averaged 355 nm and 532 nm lidar profiles, formatted as Quick Look Science Data (QLSD)
The largest portion of the data contains the single-shot full resolution digitized
lidar signals. The ISDB information was generated once per
second and contains timing parameters and engineering data
related to the health, status, and configuration of the
instrument. The QLSD are 100-shot averages of the 355 nm and 532
nm lidar signals and were generated at ten second intervals.
As the LITE data were generated, they were output to both low-rate and
high-rate telemetry streams. The low-rate data contained the ISDB
and QLSD only. The low-rate data were transmitted to the ground by the
Shuttle S-band system through the Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite System (TDRSS).
The high-rate data contained the full
resolution digitized lidar signals for all three wavelengths, as well as the
ISDB and QLSD. The high-rate data were transmitted in real time
by the Ku-band system through TDRSS downlink to the LITE
operations center at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). High-rate
data were only obtained when the orbiter and TDRSS telemetry link
coincided with the real-time operations of LITE.
The low-rate
data were backed up by a Shuttle recorder during periods when the
telemetry link was unavailable, and the entire low-rate data
stream was transferred to the ground over the course of the
mission. A total of 53 hours of low-rate data and 45.5 hours of
high-rate data were acquired.
All of the LITE raw telemetry data
have been archived at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC).
The LITE high-rate data have been processed to the level 1
data product, and are available from the LaRC DAAC.
Access LITE data from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC)
Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).
The LaRC DAAC Web address: http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/
Select this link and go directly to the LaRC DAAC Web Page.