At Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, three poly picosatellite orbital deployers, or P-POD containers, with tiny satellites, called CubeSats inside, are being prepared for installation on the direct mate adapter of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, on Aug. 31, 2018. NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) is ready for launch aboard the final Delta II rocket. Launch is scheduled for Sept. 15, 2018. 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 the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS). ICESat-2 will help scientists investigate why, and how much our planet's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, are changing in a warming climate.
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NASA ID
VAFB-20180831-PH_JCP01_0022
Date Created
August 31, 2018
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Photographer
USAF 30th Space Wing/Julio Paz
Location
SLC-2 VAFB
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