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

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ICESat-2 Awaiting Liftoff from California Coast

A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying NASA's ICESat-2 spacecraft stands poised for launch.
A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying NASA’s ICESat-2 spacecraft stands poised for launch. Photo courtesy of United Launch Alliance

Launch day has arrived for NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2. The spacecraft is safely sealed inside the payload fairing atop the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket awaiting liftoff this morning from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Today’s launch will be the last for the Delta II vehicle, which has flown more than 150 times in the nearly 30 years since its 1989 debut.

Today’s launch window is targeted to open at 5:46 a.m. PDT (8:46 a.m. EDT) and extend to 6:55 a.m. PDT (9:55 a.m. EDT). Coming up, 1st Lt. Daniel Smith of the 30th Space Wing, the launch weather officer, will update the launch team on today’s forecast.

The vehicle’s first stage has been loaded with cryogenic liquid oxygen and a refined, rocket-grade kerosene called RP-1.

Stay with us for the latest from the countdown as NASA and United Launch Alliance prepare for liftoff of ICESat-2.