Pegasus Mission #39: C/NOFS

On April 16 2008, an Orbital Pegasus XL rocket successfully launched the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) spacecraft into orbit. The satellite was mated to its Pegasus launch vehicle at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Orbital’s L-1011 carrier aircraft then ferried Pegasus to the launch site in the Marshall Islands. The launch was the 39th Pegasus mission since its debut in 1990 and the 25th consecutive successful mission since 1996.

The C/NOFS spacecraft is designed to detect and forecast regions of naturally occurring irregularities (scintillation) in the Earth’s atmosphere which result in decreased satellite to ground communications, and to alert users of impending satellite communication outages.

About the Pegasus Space Launch Vehicle
Orbital’s Pegasus® launch vehicle is an air-launched, internally guided, three stage solid rocket capable of launching up to 1,000 lbs. to low Earth orbit. Pegasus was specifically developed to provide cost-effective access to space for technology demonstration, scientific investigation, remote sensing and communications missions. Mated to its L-1011 carrier aircraft and dropped at approximately 38,000 feet, the vehicle free falls for approximately 5 seconds before firing its first stage rocket motor. A typical flight from drop to insertion into orbit takes approximately eleven minutes. Pegasus has conducted 38 missions to date launching over 70 satellites from six different locations worldwide.

For more information:
Pegasus Fact Sheet
Pegasus Images
AFRL C/NOFS Fact Sheet