{"id":12900,"date":"2019-10-11T19:16:31","date_gmt":"2019-10-11T11:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-satellite-to-study-ionosphere-launches-after-two-year-delay\/"},"modified":"2019-10-11T19:16:31","modified_gmt":"2019-10-11T11:16:31","slug":"nasa-satellite-to-study-ionosphere-launches-after-two-year-delay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-satellite-to-study-ionosphere-launches-after-two-year-delay\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA satellite to study ionosphere launches after two-year delay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Artist\u2019s illustration of the Ionospheric Connection Explorer satellite. Credit: NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A refrigerator-sized satellite soared into orbit aboard an air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket Thursday night over the Atlantic Ocean, finally setting off on a $252 million mission to probe the dynamic boundary region where space and Earth\u2019s atmosphere meet.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite rode to space at the tip of the winged Pegasus XL launcher on a mission delayed more than two years by problems with the rocket.<\/p>\n

The 634-pound (288-kilogram) ICON satellite carries instruments to track variability in the ionosphere, a layer in the upper atmosphere where the auroras are generated. Conditions there can impact satellite communications, GPS navigation and electrical grids.<\/p>\n

A modified L-1011 jetliner took off around 8:31 p.m. EDT Thursday (0031 GMT Friday) from the Skid Strip airfield at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After heading east over the Atlantic Ocean, the L-1011 flight crew guided the airplane on a race track pattern to line up for a pass through the Pegasus drop box around 100 miles (160 kilometers) east-northeast of Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n

Officials originally planned to release the 57-foot-long (17-meter) rocket at 9:30 p.m. EDT (0130 GMT), but a communications issue forced the team to abort the drop. The L-1011 carrier jet, named \u201cStargazer,\u201d circled around and line up for another launch run at an altitude of 39,000 feet (11,900 meters) on an east-southeast heading.<\/p>\n

The launch panel operator inside the L-1011 activated the rocket\u2019s fin batteries in the final minute of the countdown. The Pegasus first stage\u2019s rudder and twin elevons completed a sweep test before L-1011 co-pilot Steve Gunn pushed a button in the cockpit to release the nearly 53,000-pound (24 metric-ton) rocket.<\/p>\n

After dropping for five seconds, the Pegasus XL\u2019s winged first stage ignited and powered up to produce 163,000 pounds of thrust. The rocket pitched up to fly at an angle of 35 degrees as the first stage propelled the Pegasus to an altitude of 177,000 feet (54 kilometers) in less than a minute-and-a-half.<\/p>\n

The first stage burned out and jettisoned, followed seconds later by ignition of the Pegasus second stage. The rocket\u2019s nose cone separated at around T+plus 2 minutes, 10 seconds, once the Pegasus climbed above the dense lower layers of the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

The second stage burned out just shy of the three-minute mark of the flight, and the Pegasus coasted for several minutes before the third stage motor fired to finish the job of placing NASA\u2019s ICON satellite into orbit.<\/p>\n

The Pegasus rocket placed the ICON spacecraft into an orbit ranging between 356 and 382 miles (574-by-616 kilometers) above Earth, with an inclination angle of around 27 degrees to the equator.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of those values are on target,\u201d reported launch conductor Adam Lewis.<\/p>\n