Monday, September 17, 2018

ULA Launches Last Delta II Rocket From Vandenberg

The United Launch Alliance launched its last Delta II rocket mission on Saturday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base, north of Los Angeles, in a launch visible to much of the Los Angeles area. The launch--the final mission of the ULA's Delta II--sent a new satellite into space for NASA, the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) spacecraft. ULA sent the rocket into space at 6:02 a.m. PDT. ULA's Delta II rocket first launched in 1989. The rocket platform, which is being retired, had 155 total launches. Vandenberg Air Force Base, which has long been a center of rocket launches, has been particularly busy in recent years with launches for both ULA as well as competitor SpaceX.