ICESat Spacecraft Set to Launch on December 19

	Artist concept of ICESat in orbit

NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation satellite (ICESat) is set to launch on December 19, 2002. This launch will continue NASA's commitment to studying the Earth as a global system and will help us understand and protect our home planet. ICESat, part of the Earth Observing System, is dedicated to advancing our understanding of global climate and global change.

ICESat is the latest in a series of Earth Observing System spacecraft, following the Terra satellite launched in December 1999, and the Aqua satellite launched earlier in May of this year. The primary role of ICESat is to quantify ice sheet growth or retreat and to thereby answer questions concerning many related aspects of the Earth's climate system, from global warming to changes in sea level.

"This is exciting and timely science as we have witnessed considerable changes in the icecaps over the past decade," said Jim Watzin, the ICESat Project Manager at Goddard. "This information will help scientists to determine whether the polar ice sheets are growing or shrinking, and how the ice masses may change in future climate conditions."

ICESat is launching on Boeing 's Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The 45-minute launch window opens at 4:45 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Separation of the spacecraft from its launch vehicle will occur about 64 minutes after launch. Once in its final orbital position, the satellite will orbit the Earth at an altitude of approximately 373 miles (600 kilometers).

Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation (Ball) in Boulder, Colorado built the spacecraft. The Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) at GSFC will provide space and ground network support and the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics will team with Ball to provide mission operations and flight dynamics support. The GLAS and ICESat data will be initially processed at the ICESat Investigator-led Processing System with support from the University of Texas, Center for Space Research.

Goddard manages the Earth Observing System for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise in Washington, D.C.

More information about the ICESat program is available at: http://ICESat.nasa.gov
More about NASA's Earth Science Enterprise can be found at: http://www.earth.nasa.gov