August 22, 2018 – Arianespace has successfully launched the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Aeolus satellite, the first space mission designed to acquire profiles of Earth’s winds on a global scale. The launch took place on Wednesday, August 22, 2018 at 6:20 p.m. (local time) from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana (South America). Aeolus is the first space mission designed to measure wind profiles across the entire planet. It will deliver data and 3D dynamic maps that will help improve weather forecasting and climate research. The first wind observation satellite using laser technology, Aeolus carries a single instrument, a Doppler wind lidar called Aladin (Atmospheric LAser Doppler INstrument). This instrument will probe the atmosphere with pioneering ultraviolet laser pulses, which will enhance our understanding of tropical dynamics and processes relevant to climate variability.