A Pegasus-XL air-launched rocket successfully launched with ODYSSEY (Tacrl2) from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, at 0811 on 13 June 2021. The Pegasus is operated by Northrop Grumman, and is launched from a modified Stargazer L-1011 aircraft inherited from Orbital ATK. Pegasus has only flown three times over the past five years, with its most recent mission taking place in October 2019.
The payload was successfully deployed in to a sun-synchronous, low Earth orbit (LEO) for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Its mission is described as “space surveillance” and will provide data concerning space domain awareness.
An image of the carrier aircraft with the underslung Pegasus-XL rocket before take-off. Courtesy of U.S. Space Force/Northrop Grumman
