# ICESat-2
*missions*

## Specifications
- **operator**: nasa
- **launch vehicle**: ula-delta-ii
- **actual launch**: 2018-09-15
- **planned decommission**: 2021-09-15
- **current status**: extended
- **orbit type**: LEO, near-polar frozen orbit, 496 km, 92 degrees inclination
- **revisit days**: 91
- **tasking supported**: false
- **archive depth years**: 7
- **entity type**: mission
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-02
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: nasa
- **attributes**: {"operator":"nasa","launch_vehicle":"ula-delta-ii","actual_launch":"2018-09-15","planned_decommission":"2021-09-15","current_status":"extended","orbit_type":"LEO, near-polar frozen orbit, 496 km, 92 degrees inclination","revisit_days":91,"tasking_supported":false,"archive_depth_years":7}

## Editorial
ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2) is a NASA laser altimetry mission launched on 15 September 2018 aboard a Delta II rocket provided by United Launch Alliance.[^ula-delta-ii-icesat2] The satellite carries the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), a photon-counting lidar operating at 532 nm that measures surface elevations across ice sheets, sea ice, forests, and oceans with centimetre-scale vertical precision.[^nasa-icesat2-specs]

ICESat-2 operates in a near-polar frozen orbit at approximately 496 km altitude and 92 degrees inclination, repeating its ground track every 91 days.[^nasa-icesat2-specs][^eoportal-icesat2] The CEOS EO Handbook rounds the operational altitude to 500 km; eoPortal records and NASA GSFC documentation give 496 km as the engineering value.[^ceos-icesat2][^eoportal-icesat2][^nasa-icesat2-specs] The mission was designed for a three-year operational life from launch, with a planned design-life endpoint of September 2021. The mission has since been extended; as of 2026-06-02 the extended mission remains active.[^nasa-icesat2-mission]

The spacecraft was built on the LEOStar-3 bus, manufactured by Northrop Grumman (then operating as Orbital ATK). ICESat-2 is operated by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and carries seven years of archived data accessible through NASA data services.[^nasa-icesat2-mission][^eoportal-icesat2]

## Compositional position
- ICESat-2 --[mission_payloads]--> icesat-2-atlas (products)

## Sources
- [eoportal-icesat2] | ICESat-2 mission profile, eoPortal Directory | https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/icesat-2 | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-02
- [nasa-icesat2-specs] | ICESat-2 Technical Specs, NASA GSFC | https://icesat-2.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/specs | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-02
- [nasa-icesat2-mission] | ICESat-2 Our Mission, NASA GSFC | https://icesat-2.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-02
- [ula-delta-ii-icesat2] | Delta II ICESat-2 launch page, ULA | https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/archived-launched/delta-ii-icesat-2 | tier=operator-press | accessed=2026-06-02
- [ceos-icesat2] | ICESat-2 Mission Summary, CEOS EO Handbook | https://database.eohandbook.com/database/missionsummary.aspx?missionID=613 | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-02
- [wikipedia-icesat2] | ICESat-2, Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICESat-2 | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-02

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/missions/icesat-2
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)