ICESat lifted off on January 13, 2003, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 4:45 p.m. PST aboard Boeing’s Delta II rocket. Separation of the ICESat spacecraft occurred 64 minutes after launch at 5:49 p.m. PST. Initial contact with ICESat was made 75 minutes after launch at 6 p.m. PST as the spacecraft passed over the Svalbard Ground Station in Norway.