Tag: Stargazer
-
Pegasus XL set to air launch Swift Boost Mission to save NASA space telescope
In its first mission since 2021, a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled to be air-launched from the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar Stargazer. Riding aboard Pegasus XL is NASA’s Swift Boost Mission, a mission utilizing a robotic servicing spacecraft from Katalyst Space Technologies to raise, or “boost,” the orbital altitude of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.…
-
Pegasus XL rocket successfully launches Tactically Responsive Launch demo for Space Force
Northrop Grumman’s air-launched Pegasus XL rocket made a low-profile launch for the US Space Force Sunday, in a mission designed to demonstrate the ability to call up and conduct a launch at short notice. The launch occurred off the coast of California during a six-minute window that opened at 01:09 PDT (08:09 UTC). The mission…
-
Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus rocket selected for responsive launch demo
A Pegasus rocket underneath its L-1011 carrier jet takes off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, before a 2013 launch. Credit: NASA The U.S. Space Force is planning for an airborne launch of a solid-fueled Pegasus rocket over the Pacific Ocean by early summer after quietly awarding Northrop Grumman a contract for the mission last…
-
Photo: New Orbital ATK paint job for Pegasus carrier jet
Credit: Orbital ATK The aircraft that air-launches the Pegasus rocket has been repainted with new livery to mark the recent corporate merge that formed Orbital ATK. The L-1011 jet, named Stargazer, carries the light-class Pegasus launchers to an altitude of 39,000 feet and releases the booster to fire into space. Pegasus has flown 42 times…