1] We infer the polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) mass throughout the Arctic summer using results from two sets of satellite observations and a microphysical model. Solar backscatter ultraviolet (SBUV) PMC observations in July 1999 indicate a burst of activity persisting for $8 days after a space shuttle launch and averaging 262 ± 52 t near 4.7 local time. This mass is consistent with the propellant mass available from the shuttle's main engines and accounts for 22% of the total SBUV PMC mass over the season between 65° and 75°N. This is the first evidence that PMCs formed by space shuttle water exhaust can contribute significantly to both the number of observed PMCs and the total PMC mass in a season. In another approach, 11 years of observations by the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) indicate that on average 90 ± 12 t of water ice is present near local midnight between 65° and 75°N. Using simultaneous HALOE water vapor observations, we find that a one-dimensional microphysical model reproduces the start and end of the PMC season but overpredicts the ice mass by about a factor of 1.8 when compared with the observations. This overprediction is within the time-dependent variability of ice formation and the uncertainties of temperature, water vapor, and vertical winds used to initialize the model.