Pegasus XL

Active

Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC)

June 27, 1994

Description

The Pegasus is an air-launched rocket developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (now part of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems). Capable of carrying small payloads of up to 443 kilograms (977 lb) into low Earth orbit, the vehicle consists of three solid propellant stages and an optional monopropellant fourth stage. Pegasus is released from its carrier aircraft at approximately 40,000 ft (12,000 m), and its first stage has a wing and a tail to provide lift and attitude control while in the atmosphere.

Specifications
  • Max Stage
    3
  • Length
    17.6 m
  • Diameter
    1.27 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    23.0 T
  • Thrust
    580.0 kN
  • Apogee (Sub-Orbital)
    4000.0 km
Family
  • Name
    Pegasus XL
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Pegasus XL
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $40000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    443.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Orbital Sciences Corporation

Commercial
None
OSC

None

Pegasus XL | Odyssey (TacRL-2)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
June 13, 2021, 8:11 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Payload for the US Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Launch program. It is a space domain awareness satellite that was procured under the Space Force's responsive launch program. The spacecraft was built in under a year and the launch provider was given three weeks of notice for the launch.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Pegasus XL | Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Oct. 11, 2019, 2 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is a NASA mission to study Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere and the connection between space weather and weather on our planet. Mission is planned to last for two years.

Low Earth Orbit #NASAICON
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Pegasus XL | 8 x CYGNSS

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Dec. 15, 2016, 1:37 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

CYGNSS or Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System is a NASA developed system to improve hurricane forecasting. It is a constellation of 8 small observation satellites, 27.5 kg each, that will make accurate measurements of ocean surface winds in and near the eye of the storm throughout the lifecycle of tropical cyclones, typhoons & hurricanes.

Low Earth Orbit
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Pegasus XL | Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
June 28, 2013, 2:27 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) is a NASA Small Explorer Mission to observe how solar material moves, gathers energy, and heats up as it travels through a little-understood region in the sun's lower atmosphere.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit
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Pegasus XL | Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
June 13, 2012, 4 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Designed to image high-energy X-ray radiation, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is tasked with surveying regions surrounding the center of own Milky Way Galaxy and performing deep observations of the extragalactic sky, studying black holes and supernovas.

Low Earth Orbit
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Pegasus XL | Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Oct. 19, 2008, 5:47 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
April 16, 2008, 5:02 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
April 25, 2007, 8:26 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Space Technology 5 (ST-5) (3x microsats)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
March 28, 2006, 8:10 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | ST-5 FWD

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
March 22, 2006, 2:03 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

NASA's three micro-sats were launched to test and validate new technologies for future science missions. ST5's objective was to demonstrate and flight qualify several innovative technologies and concepts for application to future space missions.

Low Earth Orbit
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Pegasus XL | Demonstration for Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
April 15, 2005, 5:26 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | SCISAT-1

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Aug. 13, 2003, 2:09 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | OrbView-3

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
June 26, 2003, 6:53 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
April 28, 2003, 11:59 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Jan. 25, 2003, 8:13 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Feb. 5, 2002, 8:58 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Tri-Services Experiments Platform-5 (TSX-5)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
June 7, 2000, 1:19 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
March 5, 1999, 2:56 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Dec. 6, 1998, 12:57 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
April 2, 1998, 2:42 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Broadband Advanced Technologies Satellite (BATSAT/Teledesic T1) & Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Feb. 26, 1998, 7:07 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Space Test Experiments Platform-4 (STEP-4)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Oct. 22, 1997, 1:13 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Fast On-orbit Rapid Recording of Transient Events (FORTE)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Aug. 29, 1997, 3:02 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | OrbView-2

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Aug. 1, 1997, 8:20 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Minisat & Celestis Space Burial #1

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
April 21, 1997, 11:59 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE) & Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-B (SAC-B)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Nov. 4, 1996, 5:08 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
Aug. 21, 1996, 9:47 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
July 2, 1996, 7:48 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | REX II

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
March 9, 1996, 1:33 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Space Test Experiments Platform-3 (STEP-3)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
June 22, 1995, 7:58 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Pegasus XL | Space Test Experiments Platform 1 (STEP-1)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Air launch to orbit
June 27, 1994, 9:15 p.m.
Status: Launch Failure
Unknown Mission

There are no mission or payload details available for this launch.


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Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 13 hours ago
Starlink Group 6-66
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
2 days, 17 hours ago
Progress MS-29 (90P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Starship
Success
4 days, 7 hours ago
Integrated Flight Test 6
Orbital Launch Mount A - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

Sixth test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 11 hours ago
GSAT-20 (GSAT-N2)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

GSAT-20 is an Indian geostationary Ka-band high-throughput communications satellite. GSAT 20 is reportedly built on the I-6K unified modular bus a…


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 23 hours ago
Starlink Group 9-12
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.