NASA's ICESat-2 Separates from Upper Stage

A camera on the upper stage shows NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) as it is deployed into orbit above the Earth. Immediately following separation, agency and industry managers celebrate the successful launch. Liftoff took place atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 6:02 a.m. PDT (9:02 a.m. EDT). ICESat-2 carries the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System to help scientists better understand why and how much Earth's frozen and icy areas, called the cryosphere, is changing.