ICESAT-2

Launch data:

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• ICESAT-2 is a satellite part of NASA′s Earth Observing System with the goal to continue measuring and monitoring the impacts of the changing environment. The ICESAT-2 observatory contains a single instrument, an improved laser altimeter called ATLAS (Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System). ATLAS is designed to measure ice-sheet topography, sea ice freeboard as well as cloud and atmospheric properties and global vegetation. The requirements call for a 5-year operational mission with a goal of 7 years.

Mission details:

• NASA-Goddard′s long-delayed ICESAT-2 was launched on September 15, 2018 aboard the final Delta 2 rocket, flight Delta 381. ICESAT-2 carries the ATLAS instrument, a visible-light laser with a 0.8m aperture telescope. The spacecraft is an Orbital (now Northrop Grumman) Leostar-3. ICESAT-2 wll measure the thickness of the polar ice sheets.
• The Delta second stage delivered ICESAT-2 to a 92 degree orbit and then made a small burn to change inclination to 93 degrees before ejecting four university-developed cubesats. ELFIN and ELFIN-STAR (or ELFIN-B) from UCLA are studying relativistic electrons in the radiation belts.
  DAVE (CP7) from Cal Poly is studying a new damper technology for deploying booms gently. A final cubesat from the University of Central Florida studies surface charging; unfortunately its name, Surfsat, is identical to that of a small 1995 satellite which is still in orbit.
• The Delta 381 second stage performed a deorbit burn and impacted the ocean around 15:12 UTC.
• Delta 381 was the 724th and last launch of a rocket using a first stage based on the 1957-era Thor missile. 155 of these were Delta II vehicles, with the Extra Extended Long Tank Thor first stage - the Delta II class had a remarkable 99.1% launch success rate.

External links:

• Satellite tracking (n2ya.com): Real time satellite tracking