An artist illustration of NASA's ICESat-2 satellite above Earth. Image credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2, a mission to measure the changing height of Earth's ice, is scheduled to launch Saturday, Sept. 15, with a 40-minute window opening at 8:46 a.m. EDT (5:46 a.m. PDT). The spacecraft will lift off from Space Launch Complex 2 (SLC-2) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on the final launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed.

Launch coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 8:10 a.m. EDT (5:10 a.m. PDT).

ICESat-2 will measure the height of our changing Earth, one laser pulse at a time, 10,000 laser pulses per second. The satellite will carry a single instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), which measures the travel times of laser pulses to calculate the distance between the spacecraft and Earth’s surface. ICESat-2 will provide scientists with height measurements that create a global portrait of Earth’s third dimension, gathering data that can precisely track changes of terrain, including glaciers, sea ice and forests.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages development of the ICESat-2 mission, including mission systems engineering and mission operations on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission directorate. Goddard also built and tested the ATLAS instrument. The ICESat-2 spacecraft was built and tested by Northrop Grumman in Gilbert, Arizona. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Delta II launch service. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis and launch management.

The following is a complete schedule of mission coverage, including opportunities for media participation at Vandenberg.

L-2 Day (Thursday, Sept. 13)

Prelaunch Mission Briefing

A prelaunch mission briefing will be held at 4 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. PDT) at NASA Building 836 and will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Participants:

Tom Wagner, ICESat-2 program scientist, NASA Headquarters

Doug McLennan, ICESat-2 project manager, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Donya Douglas-Bradshaw, ATLAS instrument project manager, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Tom Neumann, ICESat-2 deputy project scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Lori Magruder, University of Texas at Austin, ICESat-2 science definition team lead

Helen Fricker, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, Calif., ICESat-2 science definition team member

Bill Barnhart, ICESat-2 program manager, Northrop Grumman

Tim Dunn, launch director, NASA Kennedy Space Center

Scott Messer, program manager, NASA Programs, United Launch Alliance

1st Lt. Daniel Smith, launch weather officer, 30th Space Wing, Vandenberg Air Force Base

Accredited news media planning to attend the briefing should confirm their participation with 1st Lt. Amy Rasmussen, 30th Space Wing public affairs officer, at amy.rasmussen@us.af.mil no later than 12 p.m. PDT, Friday, Sept. 7.

Media who have confirmed their participation with the 30th Space Wing should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at 12 p.m. PDT to be escorted. Media must present a driver’s license/passport to receive a base pass.

Media and the public also may ask questions during the event using #askNASA.

L-1 Day (Friday, Sept. 14)

Remote Camera Setup and Mobile Service Tower Photo Opportunity at SLC-2

There will be a combined opportunity for news media to establish sound-activated/timer-set remote cameras to photograph the United Launch Alliance Delta II liftoff with ICESat-2 and photograph the mobile service tower rollback at SLC-2.

Accredited news media planning to attend this activity should confirm their participation with 1st Lt. Amy Rasmussen, 30th Space Wing public affairs officer, at amy.rasmussen@us.af.mil no later than 12 p.m. PDT, Friday, Sept. 7.

Media who have confirmed their participation with the 30th Space Wing should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at 4:30 p.m. PDT to be escorted. Media must present a driver’s license/passport to receive a base pass.

L-0 Launch Day (Saturday, Sept. 15)

Launch Viewing

Accredited news media planning to cover the launch should confirm their participation with 1st Lt. Amy Rasmussen, 30th Space Wing public affairs officer, at amy.rasmussen@us.af.mil no later than 12 p.m. PDT, Friday, Sept. 7.

Media who have confirmed their participation with the 30th Space Wing should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at 4 a.m. PDT to be escorted to the viewing site. Media must present a driver’s license/passport to receive a base pass.

NASA TV Launch Coverage

NASA TV live launch coverage will begin at 8:10 a.m. EDT (5:10 a.m. PDT). For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.

NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage

Prelaunch and launch day coverage of ICESat-2 will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 8:10 a.m. EDT (5:10 a.m. PDT) as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at https://blogs.nasa.gov/icesat2/.

For more information about the ICESat-2 mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/icesat-2

Join the conversation on social media by following on Twitter and Facebook at:

https://twitter.com/NASA_ICE

https://www.facebook.com/ICEatNASA/

Photo and video content for ICESat-2 is available at:

http://images.nasa.gov/

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/Gallery/icesat2.html

end-

Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov

Patrick Lynch
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-2102
patrick.lynch@nasa.gov

Tori McLendon
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
tori.n.mclendon@nasa.gov

1st Lt. Amy Rasmussen​
30th Space Wing Public Affairs
805-606-4017
amy.rasmussen@us.af.mil

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