Delta II ICESat-2 Fairing Hoist

The second half of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket payload fairing is being prepared for the move to the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on June 4, 2018. NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will launch later this year 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.