This Saturday, the last-ever Delta II rocket will blast off from Vandenberg Air Force in California carrying NASA’s ICESat-2 spacecraft to orbit. ICESat-2 … Final Flight for the Delta II Rocket The end of an era arrived Saturday morning, September 15, 2018 with an Earth-shaking roar and a brilliant flash of light as the world’s last Delta II rocket rose into the morning sky above Vandenberg Air Force Base. Final Delta 2 rocket launches $1 billion ice probe. ICESat-2 follows up on a previous mission of the same name and carries a laser altimeter to map the planet's ice sheets. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 variants ("Light" and "Heavy"). ICESat-2 is a fitting mission for the final Delta II rocket, which has sent numerous spacecraft into orbit around Earth. The last United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket launches NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on Sept. 15, 2018. Delta II holds a really special place in so many folks in the launch industry's hearts," said Tim Dunn, NASA's launch director for the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission lifting off on the 155th and final Delta II rocket to fly since 1989.

Launch is set for 8:10 a.m. EDT (12:10 UTC). The final Delta II rocket to fly is seen shortly after the mobile service tower at Space Launch Complex-2 was rolled back for the vehicle's 155th and last mission on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The venerable Delta II rocket, steeped in history, will fly what is almost certainly its final mission from Cape Canaveral. By William Harwood Updated on: September ... Last fall, Bill Whitaker profiled the acclaimed … September 17, 2018 Derived from old ballistic missile technology, the Delta II … WASHINGTON -- The sun is setting on Delta 2, the medium-lift rocket that has logged 87 consecutive successful launches since 1997 but loses the U.S. Air Force as its prime customer after this year. Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas.Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, the last ever to fly, launches NASA's ICESat-2 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California before dawn on Sept. 15, 2018. Team members referred to the rocket's distinctive hue as "Delta Blue." (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Goodbye, Delta II rocket. [/caption] Another American rocket Era is about to end. Ending a 30-year run as one of America's most successful rockets, a United Launch Alliance's 155th and final Delta 2 roared to life for the last time Saturday carrying a … ICESat-2 … Historic Last ULA Delta II Rocket Launches NASA’s ICESat-2 to Probe Earth’s Ice Sheets The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket with the NASA Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) onboard is seen shortly after the mobile service tower at SLC-2 was rolled back, Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.