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ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite 2)

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Delta II Payload Fairings for ICESat-2 Moved to ULA Facility

The payload fairings for the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket arrive at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.Both halves of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket payload fairing arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and were transported by convoy Feb. 23, 2018, to ULA’s Building B8337. The fairings were unpacked from their transportation carrier and secured on work stands. NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will launch later this year on the final Delta II rocket.

The payload fairings for the Delta II are inside ULA's Building B8337 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Both halves of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket payload fairing were moved inside ULA’s Building B8337 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Technicians begin the process to remove them from their transporters. Photo Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

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.

Photo Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin