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In July 2019, it was announced that Northrop Grumman had lost the launch contract of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) satellite to SpaceX. IXPE had been planned to be launched by a Pegasus XL rocket, and had been designed so as to fit within the Pegasus XL rocket constraints.
In January 2019, three months after the death of Stratolaunch founder and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Stratolaunch abandoned the development of its PGA rocket engines and dedicated launchers. This left the Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL as the sole launch option for an orbital capability of 800 lb (360 kg).
Stargazer is a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar built in 1974, that was modified in 1994 for use by Orbital Sciences (now part of Northrop Grumman) as a mother ship for the Pegasus, a small-lift launch vehicle. As of October 2022, 45 rockets (containing nearly 100 satellites) have been launched from Stargazer. [2][3] Stargazer is the only L-1011 ...
The dual fuselage and high-wing design allow for multiple launch vehicles to attach and release from the aircraft centerline. The Stratolaunch is intended to carry a 550,000-pound (250 t) payload and has a 1,300,000-pound (590 t) maximum takeoff weight. The carrier plane is powered by six Pratt & Whitney PW4000, 46,000–66,500 lbf (205,000 ...
Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other government customers. In 2014, Orbital merged with Alliant Techsystems (ATK) to create a new company called ...
IXPE (Explorer 97) →. Ionospheric Connection Explorer ( ICON) [ 6] is a satellite designed to investigate changes in the ionosphere of Earth, the dynamic region high in the atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above. ICON studies the interaction between Earth's weather systems and space weather driven by ...
Minotaur (rocket family) The Minotaur is a family of United States solid-fuel launch vehicles repurposed from retired Minuteman and Peacekeeper model intercontinental ballistic missiles. Built by Northrop Grumman under the Space Force's Rocket Systems Launch Program, these vehicles are used for various space and test launch missions.
Minotaur-C. Minotaur-C (Minotaur Commercial), formerly known as Taurus[1] or Taurus XL, is a four stage solid fueled launch vehicle built in the United States by Orbital Sciences (now Northrop Grumman) and launched from SLC-576E at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. It is based on the air-launched Pegasus rocket from the same manufacturer ...