Delta II ICESat-2 Atlas Instrument Flight Door Opening

Inside the high bay of the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians open and check the flight door for the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) on NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) on June 18, 2018. The satellite is being prepared for its scheduled launch from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg on the final United Launch Alliance 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 ATLAS. 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.

Inside the high bay of the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians open and check the flight door for the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) on NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) on June 18, 2018. The satellite is being prepared for its scheduled launch from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg on the final United Launch Alliance 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 ATLAS. 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.

ICESat-2IceCloud and land Elevation Satellite-2NASAGSFCGoddard Space Flight CenterLSPLaunch Services ProgramULAUnited Launch AllianceDelta IISLC-2WVAFBVandenberg Air Force BaseATLASAdvanced Topographic Laser Altimeter SystemFibertekInc Northrop GrummanLEOStar-3AstrotechAstrotech Space OperationsATLAS flight door