Delta II ICESat-2 Second Stage Lift and Mate

The United Launch Alliance Delta II second stage is lifted high up at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 2 on June 12, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The second stage will be attached to the top of the booster, or first stage of the rocket. NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will launch on the final Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing in a warming climate.

The United Launch Alliance Delta II second stage is lifted high up at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 2 on June 12, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The second stage will be attached to the top of the booster, or first stage of the rocket. NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will launch on the final Delta II rocket. ICESat-2 will measure the height of a changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses a second. The satellite will carry a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System. ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing in a warming climate.

Photographer NASA/Randy Beaudoin
ICESat-2IceCloud and land Elevation Satellite-2NASAGSFCGoddard Space Flight CenterLSPLaunch Services ProgramULAUnited Launch AllianceDelta IISLC-2WVAFBVandenberg Air Force BaseATLASAdvanced Topographic Laser Altimeter SystemFibertek Inc Northrop GrummanLEOStar-3AstrotechAstrotech Space Operationsfirst stageboosterVertical Integration Facilitysecond stage