ULA Preparing For Final Delta II Launch Saturday Written 14 September 2018

ExecutiveBiz reports that United Launch Alliance (ULA) has begun preparations for Saturday’s planned launch of a “Northrop Grumman-built spacecraft via the Delta II 7420-10, marking the rocket’s last launch into space.” NASA’s Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will “monitor the changes in the ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica” in order to help scientists better understand “environmental changes on future global sea level.” The mission also will involve “tracking differences in sea-ice thickness and calculating large-scale biomass,” and will be launched from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg AFB. The Delta II launch vehicle completed 129 missions over 29 years, including the “launch of the first Global Positioning System satellites and the Spirit and Opportunity rovers for Mars.” (Image Credit: NASA)
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