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The United Launch Alliance team is “go” for launch. The ICESat-2 spacecraft is configured for launch and has been transferred from ground to battery power. Countdown clocks are counting down from the T-minus 4 minute mark.

NASA Launch Manager Tim Dunn just conducted his team’s final launch readiness poll and all are “go” for launch. “The NASA team is ‘go’ for the ICESat-2 mission on the Delta II,” Dunn said.

The launch team is working toward a new launch time of 6:02 a.m. PDT (9:02 a.m. EDT). The T-minus 4 minute hold has been extended to accommodate the new time.

Countdown clocks have paused for 10 minutes at the T-minus 4 minute mark. This is the final planned hold in today’s countdown.

The ICESat-2 spacecraft and ELaNa XVIII payload will be carried into space aboard the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. In use since 1989, the Delta II has a stellar track record: it’s launched 154 times, carrying payloads aloft for NASA, the U.S. military and commercial clients. Today’s launch will be NASA’s 54th on the …

Launch Weather Officer 1st Lt. Daniel Smith of the 30th Space Wing just briefed the team on today’s weather forecast, and it was good news: The forecast remains 100 percent “go” on all constraints. Countdown clocks are now at 15 minutes and counting.

Countdown clocks are holding at the T-15 minute mark. This is a built-in hold. During the three-year ICESat-2 mission, the spacecraft will use its only instrument, the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), to measure the elevation of Earth’s surface. Its focus is on Earth’s frozen and icy areas, or cryosphere. By timing how long …

Launch day has arrived for NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2. The spacecraft is safely sealed inside the payload fairing atop the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket awaiting liftoff this morning from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Today’s launch will be the last for the Delta …

Weather remains favorable for the Sept. 15 launch of NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. The latest forecast from the U.S. Air Force 30th Space Wing predicts a 100 percent chance of favorable weather on launch day with patchy …

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has postponed the scheduled launch of a Japanese cargo spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. The unpiloted H-II Transfer Vehicle-7 (HTV-7) is loaded with more than five tons of supplies, water, spare parts and experiments for the crew aboard the International Space Station. A new launch …