LIDAR In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) V1

The Lidar-In-Space Technology Experiment(LITE) is being developed by Nasa Langley Research Center for a series of flights on the space shuttle. Using a laser,a telescope approximately 1 meter in diameter and a modular design, the system will be used to study clouds, trophospheric and stratospheric aerosols, characteristics of the planetary boundary layer, stratospheric density and temperature pertubations, and to some degree, surface topography. Payload on STS-64.
There is a slightly different version also available.