Conference 7.286::space

    Gee, I was sure this had been discussed here already but I couldn't
    find it. Maybe I'm thinking of sci.space.
    
    The basic idea is to build a cheap, air launched booster capable of
    orbiting small satellites or putting payloads into ballistic
    trajectories (for short duration space exposure or microgravity).
    
    Hercules owns part of the company and is designing/building the solid
    propellant motors for the vehicle's three stages. The first stage is
    winged, to use atmospheric lift. The wing is being built by Dick Rutan.
    The size and shape of Pegasus was dictated by the desire to use
    existing X-15 launch capabilities on a NASA B-52. The trajectory is
    similar too, with an extra kick at apogee to get it into orbit. Later
    they will use their own launch aircraft (I seem to recall that a 747 and
    an L-1011 are candidates). Wherever possible, existing technologies are
    being used.
    
    Its a neat idea, and entirely privately funded. I imagine its only
    competitor would be the LTV Scout, but LTV have only recently won
    approval to sell the Scout (outside of NASA/USAF that is) so noone
    knows what it will cost yet... probably more as a result of Govt gold
    plating.                                                             
    
    AW&ST have devoted a lot of coverage to Pegasus in recent months.
    
    gary

    	I believe the topic was discussed in the Defense files.  The object
    was to provide an onboard fighter escort for bombers in route to
    destination of destruction.  I also think the idea was broached for
    actually launching a space vehicle.  The problem with both ideas was 
    that the craft were on a sling, which made launching a risky business
    even when everything went right, and outright dangerous to both
    aircraft on recovery.  
    
    	The problem that I see is in keeping the rocket stabilized when it
    is unloaded from the aircraft for launching.  Will it actually be in
    the cargo hold and slipped out the aft section, or will it be under the
    wing and launched like an over-sized missile?  Granted, the rocket will
    have gyros to stabilize it, but will it be enough?  Its obvious that
    you can't use a drogue shoot to keep the craft nose up before the motor
    fires up....wouldn't keep the nose clean for aerodynamics.
    
    	Is there more information on the launching capabilities being
    designed into this platform?
    
    greg

    No! No! NO!
    
    Pegasus has nothing to do with Ficon, Goblin or any of the other
    parasite fighter programs (which did indeed suffer from the problems
    you mention).
    
    For initial launches, Pegasus will be carried on the underwing pylon
    used to carry and launch the X-15. It is dropped unpowered from the
    pylon, but remember it moving forward at a good rate, more than enough
    speed for the aerodynamic surfaces and guidance systems to control the
    vehicle and keep it stable. No need for drogue 'chutes or other hacks.
    Once it is a safe distance from the aircraft, the first stage is
    ignited. This is basically the same launch profile as the X-15.
    
    Later launches may be dropped from an underbelly mount built into a
    cargo hold, much like the X-1/X-2 etc were from a B-29 (and Ficon if I
    remember correctly).
    
    I can copy the AW&ST articles for you if you want, although there is
    not much detail on launch specifics.
    
    gary

    I entered a note on Pegasus some time back when I first saw it in
    AWST.  When I find it I'll move it here.
    
    Two things about Pegasus;
    
    For all you entrepreneurs out there, how about a payload carrier that
    could be orbited by Pegasus and then be returned after some days in
    orbit.  This widget might be designed to carry the same getaway special
    cannisters that the shuttle does and would support the low-g materials
    processing experiments that can't currently get on the shuttle and are
    going to MIR instead. 
    
    An interesting cost tradoff study might be done comparing the
    conventional heatshield/parachute recovery method vs a reusable
    flyback rpv.
    
    The second thing worries me a bit.   Pegasus would make a nifty
    anti-satellite weapon.  It might even have enough umphh to get a small
    warhead to geosync orbit.  So we could have a pretty neat launching
    system developed for the wrong reasons and classified out of existence
    as far as commercial space is concerned. 
    
    re. some of the programs mentioned in .-1 I do remember a picture
    (again in AWST) showing an ICBM being chucked out the back ramp of a MAC
    transport using a parachute extraction system.  I think it was one
    of the mobile basing schemes considered during the Carter years
    and, like Gary says,  has nothing to do with PEGASUS. 

    
    Mike Hughes

    There was a company developing a small reentry package a while ago,
    based on the old Discoverer program. That could be be a good match.
    
    As for ASAT, I think the Navy has that program now, so it will probably
    be submarine launched. Something to do with old Poseidons, I guess.
    
    You're right about the ICBM/plane launch. It was a Minuteman-I
    (maybe with only the first stage active), dragged out the back of a
    C-5A, I think. It was a study done during MX development.
    
    gary

There is also an anti-satellite system launched from an F-16 that is more cost 
effective than the amount of lifting capability of something Pegasus sized. The
old penny from the top of the Empire State Building mentality. You can use 
something real small if the relative velocities differ enough. You don't need 
to disperse 5 tons of marbles to kill a satellite these days. This may not kill
geosync satellites but most of them would get blinded without direct contact
using an EMP type of weapon initially.

With the old B-52s being cruise missle launch vehicles it makes more sense for 
the anti-satellite weapons to be fighter launched for air-to-nearspace delivery.

This is getting way off track, but I think the F-15 (not F-16) air launched
ASAT program has been suspended, with a switchover planned to some kind of 
submarine based (i.e. less vulnerable) system. I don't follow this stuff closely
so I could have the details wrong (but Lockheed is definitely building ELVs
out Poseidons or Tridents). The air launched ASAT is a modified SRAM with an
added upper stage, FWIW.

And now back to Pegasus...

gary

Date: 6 Mar 89 20:56:59 GMT
From: [email protected]  
      (Bob Pendleton)
Subject: Pegasus 3rd stage static test firing
  
    Today, March 6, 1989, the 3rd stage of Pegasus was successfully
tested in a static firing.  This is the only static test that will be
conducted on the 3rd stage.  My understanding is that a stage will only
be tested once unless the first test is a failure. 
  
			Bob P.
 
-              Bob Pendleton, speaking only for myself.
- UUCP Address:  decwrl!esunix!bpendlet or utah-cs!esunix!bpendlet
-
-             Reality is stranger than most can imagine.
 

Xref: utzoo sci.space:10022 sci.space.shuttle:2526
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: [email protected] (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Space news from Dec 19/26 AW&ST
Date: 	Sun, 12 Mar 89 22:45:23 EST
 
    OSC/Hercules to offer a variant of the Pegasus third stage for
payloads that need extra power:  a 1.5kW solar array can be carried to
orbit in the avionics bay, without affecting payload volume. 
 
    [Speaking of OSC...]  OSC/Hercules reports strong interest in
Pegasus launches, which is gratifying because the uncertainty of the
market is the biggest problem for small-launcher proponents. 
Pegasus's fairly low cost ($6M for a turnkey mission, half the going
rate) and flexibility (air launch means full choice of orbits and the
ability to bring the launch site to the customer) are credited. 
OSC/Hercules will be acquiring a commercial transport as a launch
aircraft for non-government payloads; it will be ready for service in
1990.  Their central base of operations is likely to be at Mojave,
since it has good weather, long runways, and a research/test orientation, 
but there are other possibilities (notably Hawaii, which is keen on 
getting into the space industry) and no final decision has been made. 
 
  Welcome to Mars!  Your       |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
passport and visa, comrade?    | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [email protected]
 

Xref: utzoo sci.space:10134 sci.space.shuttle:2623
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle
Path: utzoo!henry
From: [email protected] (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Space news from January 9 AW&ST
Date: 	Sun, 19 Mar 89 23:33:08 EST
  
    First Pegasus launch (scheduled for July) will probably carry a
Glomar experimental message-relay satellite for DoD and a pair of
gas-release canisters for NASA ionospheric research.  Launch will be
into polar orbit from off Vandenberg.  The original payload plan was a
cluster of small store/dump comsats, but they have been postponed due
to the slight element of risk in using the first launch of a new
booster. This will be the second Glomar (an earlier one went up on a
shuttle in 1985); they are aimed at demonstrating feasibility of using
small satellites to relay data from (and commands to) small military
sensors. A particular application is data relay from antisubmarine-warfare 
sensors scattered on the Arctic ice, to help track Soviet submarines under 
it.  NASA jumped at the chance to use the rest of the Pegasus payload for 
gas-release tests, several of which had to be dropped from the NASA/DoD 
CRRES satellite when it was shifted from the shuttle to an expendable.  
This will replace one of two planned Scout launches with cannisters, which 
would have cost more and taken longer. 

Welcome to Mars!  Your         |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
passport and visa, comrade?    | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [email protected]
 

    CNN reported an explosion in Hercules' new solid rocket plant in Utah.
    No injuries were reported. This is their new automated plant that
    openned last year. All propellant handling is performed without people
    in the complex. 
    
    This plant was producing the GEM (Graphite Epoxy Motor) boosters for
    the 7920/7925 models of the Delta II and presumably the motors for
    Pegasus.
    
    gary

    This weekend, on CNN Science and Technology Week, I saw a segment on
    Pegasus.  It is about the size and shape of the X-15.  There was some
    neat animation about the stages, but I couldn't tell if they were
    liquid/solid fuel, etc.  I think the first stage is liquid however.

    It is not going to make its first launch in July, as a previous note
    said, but I think they are now on for Sept.  IT LOOKS LIKE A GOOD
    PROFITABLE CONCEPT!

    Tony

All of the stages use solid propellants.

The similarity in size and shape with the X-15 is no accident. There is a very
large amount of data about hypersonic behaviour of things about the same size
and shape as the X-15, and not too much on other objects. It also made the idea
of using the NB-52 (X-15 carrier vehicle) for early launches practical.

gary

From: [email protected] (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Pegasus Rollout
Date: 10 Aug 89 18:49:25 GMT
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
 
    The following isn't from me, it's from Mary Shafer, whose news
connection is temporarily down due to equipment failure. 
 
    The "meatball" and "worm" referred to near the end are the old
NASA emblem (black circular background with various foreground
details) and the new one ("NASA" with the letters run together).  Many
people like the old one a lot better.  (If you're wondering why a
private launcher is carrying a NASA emblem, part of the first payload
is a NASA instrument package.) 
 
    This morning (0930 PDT, 10 Aug) the Pegasus rollout was held at
the OSC VAB (no, the V never stood for Vertical :-)) on Lilly Drive,
at NASA Ames-Dryden.  All of Dryden was invited and quite a few of us
trekked across the dirt to get there.  Quite a few more important
viewers were also there, including industry and the Air Force. 
 
    The formal ceremony lasted about 10 minutes and then we all surged
over to the vehicle to look at it and ask questions.  All of the
drawings and photos of the mockup that I've seen were front-quarter
views of a black or dark blue vehicle.  The real thing is white and
longer than I expected from the photos.  The difference in size may be
due to the perspective of the drawings. 
 
    Pegasus is quite attractive.  It's a little longer than the X-15
and not so "aerodynamic" looking.  The first stage is a little more
than half the length, the second stage maybe about a sixth the length,
and the third stage and payload the rest. 
 
    Random gleanings and observations:
 
    Pegasus is beautifully made.  It looks so nice it's almost a shame
    to throw it off the B-52 and set it afire.
 
    Parts of the vehicle are covered with a layer of microballoons (I
    didn't hear what the binder is) and this is covered with ablative
    material.  I think he said that this is what's used on the Shuttle
    External Tank.
 
    The LPOs (Launch Panel Operators) wear the dark blue flight suits
    like the JSC astronauts and pilots wear.  (Not the light blue
    that's worn on a shuttle mission.)
 
    There's an aluminum shroud over the second-stage nozzle.  When
    composite or fibreglass, like the first stage, are separated, they
    sometimes shatter.  The aluminum engine shroud will adsorb this
    damage, protecting the second stage.  The shroud separates two
    seconds after the first stage.  Aluminum doesn't shatter.
 
    Pegasus carries the NASA meatball rather than the worm.  We're all
    very pleased about this.
 
    [...] I think the turnout may have been higher than they were expecting.  
There were at least 200 people there, not counting all the media folks. 
 
    All in all, it was a really nice low-key rollout and I really
enjoyed it.  Pegasus is a very attractive vehicle and I look forward
to its flight.  The first captive flight should be relatively soon,
but I'm not familiar with the current schedule. 
-- 
V7 /bin/mail source: 554 lines.|     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
1989 X.400 specs: 2200+ pages. | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [email protected]

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Pegasus Specifications
Date: 17 Aug 89 20:23:21 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Terry Hancock)
Organization: UT AUSTIN Astronomy Department/McDonald Observatory
 
    In article <[email protected]> [email protected]
(54317-T.EBERSOLE) writes: 

>Pegasus looks like a large, white remotely-piloted vehicle, "wings" above the
>fuselage. It was less aerodynamic-looking than I expected, with a blunt
>nose; the structure attaching the wings to the fuselage looked more
>blocky (blunt almost) than I expected. I suppose air density at the
>altitude it's released is such to make streamlining, though still
>important, secondary to other considerations, such as payload configuration,
>structural integrity, ... 
>-- 
>Tim Ebersole ...!att!mtuxo!tee 
>                 or {allegra,ulysses,mtune,...}!mtuxo!tee
 
    I just received a copy of Orbital Sciences Corporation's brochure
on Pegasus.   With the all the recent talk about it, I thought some of
you might be interested in the specifications it claims for the
vehicle: 
 
    General (from diagram):

    Pegasus is a 3-stage air-to-orbit vehicle, which looks mostly like
a rocket, except that the usual tail fins are replaced by a wing
across the "top," and tail fins rather similar to those of an
airplane.  It looks a little like a cruise-missile.  The wings and
tail are located entirely on the first stage -- evidently it will be
above the usable atmosphere when the second stage ignites. Pegasus is
made largely of graphite composites. 
 
    Launch:

    It is dropped from underneath a large transport aircraft, I
believe the picture in the brochure shows a 747, although a B-52 will
be used for the trial launches.  It then follows a lift-assisted
trajectory into orbit. 
 
    Stages:

    Each stage is solid-propellant type.  The first depends on aerodynamic 
guidance (I think), and the upper two have steerable nozzles. 
 
    Dimensions (overall):

	Length:		49.2 ft 	( 15 m )
	Diameter:	50 in		( 1.3 m )
	Wingspan:	22 ft		( 6.7 m )
	Tail-fins:	 5 ft		( 1.5 m )
	Mass:		41,000 lb	(  18,500 kg )
	
    Dimensions of Payload:

	Length:		72 in		( 1.8 m )
	Diameter:	46 in		( 1.17 m )
	Mass (max):	900 lb		( 400 kg )	
 
    Requirements on Launch Transport Vehicle at launch: (Must carry
Pegasus to...) 

	Altitude:	40,000 ft	( 12,000 m )
	Velocity:	mach 0.8
 
    Maximum mass payload for sample orbits (from plot):

         orbit  	      |	
(N.mi) 	     |	(km)          |	maximum mass
Per. 	Apo. |	Per.	Apo.  |	(lb)	(kg)
100	100	185	185	900	410
500	500	925	925	300	660
150	1200	280	2220	520	1140
450	1200	835	2220	280	620
 
    For More Information:

    The brochure says that information (and probably the brochure I
speak of) is available from: 
 
	Marketing and Business Development
	Orbital Sciences Corporation
	12500 Fair Lakes Circle
	Fairfax, Virginia 22033
	(703) 631-3600
 
	I hope this was worth the space to you.
 
******************
Terry Hancock
[email protected]
*******************

    "If you want oil, drill lots of wells." - J. Paul Getty

  Aviation Week has a pretty good artical about Pegasus this week including
pictures of the 1st vehicle which was rolled out a few days ago. This
particular pegasus has been loaded with inert material instead of fuel
and will be used to test the launch vehicle. It will not be dropped.

  The 1st 8 or so flights will be done with the Dryden Flight Research facility
B-52 that was used for the X-15 flights. Gordon Fullerton will be the command
pilot. One interesting thing they discuss is the launch. The B-52 will fly
north west from Edwards AFB for about an hour and turn due south to launch
the spacecraft. The fuel will be managed so that the weight is balanced
on takeoff and so that the wing oposite the space craft is slightly
lighter before launch and slightly heavyer after launch than the other
wing.

  After the Pegasus is dropped from the right wing, the B-52 will start a turn
to the left. The Pegasus will be 3/4 miles in front of the B-52 when it comes
back up to the B-52's flight level.

  Aviation Week is available in most Dec Libraries.

  George

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NASA Headline News for 11/13/89 (Forwarded)
Date: 13 Nov 89 21:15:11 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, November 13, 1989                     Audio: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
  
    This is NASA Headline News for Monday, November 13:
  
    NASA, DoD and Orbital Sciences Corporation engineers are pleased
with the results of the captive flight of the NASA B-52 and the
Pegasus air-launch orbital booster last Thursday at Edwards Air Force
Base.  Only a few minor problems developed.  The flight test was the
first of two prior to launch.  No dates have been set for the second
captive flight and the launch. Goddard Space Flight Center and DARPA
supplied engineering test payloads for the captive flight over the
Mojave desert.  The actual launch will take place over the Pacific
Ocean off the California coast. 
  
    The Starfire/Consort 2 commercial suborbital launch vehicle is
ready for launch Wednesday from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
Liftoff is schedule for 10:45 A.M., Eastern time. The payload section
will carry a dozen experiments.  The launch will be carried on NASA
Select TV. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA 
Select TV.   All times are Eastern.
  
    Wednesday, November 15:
 
      9:45 A.M.      Coverage of Consort-2 launch from White 
                     Sands Missile Range.
 
All events and times are subject to change without notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon, 
Eastern time. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA 
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.  

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NASA Headline News for 12/20/89 (Forwarded)
Date: 20 Dec 89 19:43:29 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, December 20, 1989                  Audio: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 
    This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, December 20:
 
    Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Incorporated have signed
a reservation agreement with the Swedish Space Corporation for a 1992
launch of a scientific satellite using the Pegasus air launched
orbital space booster.  The Swedish satellite will carry instruments
to investigate the aurora and other magnetospheric phenomena. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA 
Select TV.  All times are Eastern.
  
    Thursday, December 21:
 
      11:30 A.M.       NASA Update will be transmitted.
  
All events and times are subject to change without notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon, 
Eastern time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA 
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Pegasus Update - 02/26/90
Date: 27 Feb 90 01:43:07 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
  
                      Pegagus Update
                    February 26, 1990
 
     The launch of the Pegasus satellite (Pegsat) is now scheduled for
March 13, according to project officials.  The satellite will be
carried aloft by a NASA B-52, from which it will be launched at 40,000
feet altitude about 50 miles west of Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA. 
Project Manager Bob Pincus and other members of the project are in
California this week readying the 422-pound satellite for the flight. 
Yesterday, they conducted a simulated flight.  Today and tomorrow,
they will conduct spacecraft checks.  Thursday, they will install the
thermal blankets, and on Friday they will load the unarmed chemical
canisters.  The three-function payload, developed at Goddard, will
carry instrumentation to measure variations in launch vehicle and
spacecraft attitude, temperature, pressure, structural loading and
vibrations.  It also will dispense a small, experimental communications 
satellite for the Navy.  Once those two operations are complete, NASA 
will use Pegsat to conduct two barium chemical releases.  The discharges 
will be made between March 15 and March 30 over central Canada. 
 
 Ron Baalke                       |    [email protected] 
 Jet Propulsion Lab  M/S 301-355  |    [email protected] 
 4800 Oak Grove Dr.               |
 Pasadena, CA 91109               |

Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Pegasus Update - 03/01/90
Date: 2 Mar 90 01:52:37 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
 
                              Pegasus Update
                              March 1, 1990
 
     Launch of the Pegasus satellite (Pegsat) has been rescheduled for
April 4, according to Project Manager Bob Pincus.  Launch had been
planned for March 13.  The new date was set this week to allow for
corrections of minor technical difficulties.  Pegsat will be launched
from a NASA B-52 over the Pacific Ocean about 50 miles west of
Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA.  Launch altitude will be 42,600 feet
(13,000 meters).  The spacecraft will be placed in a polar orbit. 
Pegsat will deploy a small Navy experimental communications satellite,
measure environmental factors during the runway and launch phases of
the mission and deploy two chemical discharges to make studies of the
atmosphere. 
 
 Ron Baalke                       |    [email protected] 
 Jet Propulsion Lab  M/S 301-355  |    [email protected] 
 4800 Oak Grove Dr.               |
 Pasadena, CA 91109               |

    [From Aviation Week, Feb. 26, 1990. Copied without permission.]

    
       ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP. SEEKS TO RAISE $36 MILLION THROUGH FIRST
                              PUBLIC STOCK SALE
    
    Orbital Sciences Corp., a developer of the Pegasus air-launched
    booster and other comercial space products and services has filed
    for approval to sell stock publicly.
    
    The stock would be traded on the NASDAQ national market and would
    make OSC the first commercial space start-up company to go public.
    
    The Fairfax, Va., company hopes to sell 2.4 million shares - 1.25
    million held by OSC itself and 1.15 million held by current
    sharholders. 
    
    At a projected price of $12-$15 a share the offering would raise $28.8
    $36 million if fully subscribed.  The company says it will use the
    money to repay bank loans and for research and development, production
    and general operations. 
    
    Founded in 1982, OSC has grown to more than 500 employees.  Initially
    the corporation concentrated on an orbit transfer vehicle called the
    Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS).  Last month a team, including Martin
    Marietta Corps.'s Astronautics Group as systems integrator, completed
    qualification of the vehicle for use with the space shuttle or Titan
    expendable launch vehicles. 
    
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to use a TOS
    and Titan to launch the Mars Observer in late 1992. 
    
    Last week, the Air Force said it had launched a Minuteman 1 with a
    Consolidated Front End (CFE) made by OSC's Space Data Div.  The Feb. 14
    launch from Vandenburg AFB, Calif., successfully tested the new
    avionics, power and payload module.  The Chandler, Ariz., division
    which OSC acquired in November, 1988, is under contract to produce 20
    CFE systems. 
    
    Pegasus, a winged booster developed in a joint venture with Hercules
    Aerospace Co., completed its third inert flight test under the wing of
    its B-52 carrier aircraft on Jan. 30.  The booster is being prepared to
    launch its first payloads, small spacecraft of the Defense Advanced
    Research Projects Agency and NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, as early
    as next week. 
    
    The Securities and Exchange Commision is not expected to complete its
    review of OSC's proposed offering, which was filed Feb. 9, for at least
    another month. 
    
    However, the offering does not assume a successful first launch of
    Pegasus. 
    
    Revenues were listed as $35.1 million in 1988 and $56.8 million for the
    nine months ended Sept. 30, 1989.  The company reported net losses of
    $5.8 million and $5.4 million for the respective periods. It has never
    paid a dividend and does not anticipate paying one in the foreseeable
    future, according to the prospectus. 

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: More info on Pegasus
Date: 6 Mar 90 11:18:02 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (George William Herbert)
Organization: ucb
 
    Pegasus is a three-stage winged [first stage] solid rocket able to
launch 600 lbs into a 250nm polar orbit or 900 lbs into a 250nm
equitorial orbit. 
 
    The vehicle itself is 49.2 feet long, with a diameter of 48 inches
and a wingspan of 22 feet.  It weights 40,000 pounds at launch and is
about the same shape and size as X-15 rocketplane, which was also
launched from the B-52.  The payload fairing is 46" diameter by 72" long. 
 
    The launch costs are estimated at $8 million per launch, or about
$10,000 per pound to orbit.  This is unfavorable compared to other
launchers on a per pound basis, but the small total cost remains
attractive to those not needing large payloads. 
 
    Pegasus was originally scheduled to fly before Christmas.  This
was delayed after problems mating the rocket to the B-52 were
discovered in flight tests. First launch is expected in the next
month.  It should be noted that there have been no delays due to the
rocket itself, and that the entire development program has been done
in only twenty months including the delay, from concept to first flight. 
 
    One program that has been developed alongside Pegasus is the
Department of Defense lightsat program.  The concept was for
development of a number of small cheap easily-deployable sattelites
for crisis situation use.  Pegasus has already sold several test
flights of lightsat prototypes to DOD. 
 
    Another customer is a [Dutch?] firm that wanted to do a small
low-orbit sattelite of one sort or another; they have the second or
third launch, and were said to be happy with progress despite the
flight delays. 
 
    The launch profile follows:

    Launch is from the B-52 mothercraft, flying at 40 thousand feet
and Mach 0.8 From here until the seperation of the first stage, the
craft is controled by a set of aerodynamic control fins.  Five seconds
after release, the first stage ignites and the rocket begins a 2.5g
pullup.  At about fifty seconds into the flight the craft reaches
max-q [maximum aerodynamic pressure on the rocket], at about 950
lbs/ft^2 force.  After 81 seconds, the first stage burns out and
seperates.  At this point, the rocket is at 208,000 feet and moving 
at Mach 8.7. 
 
    The second stage is controled by a cold-gas reaction control
system which takes over immediately after the first stage seperates. 
At 87 seconds into the flight, the third stage ignites, thrusting at
an angle of 26 degrees above the horizon.  At this point the craft is
at 231,000 feet altitude.  At the 120 second mark the payload fairing
seperates from the craft.  At 159 seconds the second stage burns out,
with the craft at 552,000 feet and 17,800fps velocity.  It is oriented
18.4 degrees above the horizon. 
 
    The rocket now enters a coast phase, with no activity.  When it
reaches the 470 second point, the rocket is at 248nm altitude and
16,300fps velocity, with an angle of 1.9 degrees to the horizon.  At
this point the third stage ignites, and burns until 533 seconds, at
which point the spacecraft is at 250 miles and 25,000fps velocity
[orbital velocity]. 
 
    Additional variants have already been proposed; DOD is funding a
variant using the first stage of a MX missile to boost the rocket
instead of using a B-52 launch.  The reasoning is that this would make
an excellent quick reaction light satelite launcher.  
 
*******************************************************************************
George William Herbert     JOAT For Hire: Anything, Anywhere: My Price
UCB Naval Architecture undergrad: Engineering with a Bouyant Attitude :-)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]       |||||||||| "What do I have to do to convince you?"-Q 
[email protected]      |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| "Die."-Worf
[email protected] |"Very good, Worf. Eaten any good books recently?"-Q

    There is an interesting story in today Wall Street Journal (23 Mar)
    about Orbital Science.
    
    One of the foundersMr. Thompson as a kid watch space shots on TV from a
    wooden space capsule he built in his basement.  In hight school, he 
    lauched monkeys a half mile into the sky in six-foot rockets he
    designed.  (two of the monkeys made it back one died when the parachute
    did not open) and said " if I had another year in high school, I could
    have built a rocket big enoguth to launch my  syster,..."
    
    Gee I think I will go out a put a order in for some stock... I like
    his ideas....
    
    john
    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: B-52/Pegasus launch scheduled for April 4 (Forwarded)
Date: 28 Mar 90 09:25:16 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
Mary Sandy
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                     March 27, 1990
 
Nancy Lovato
Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, Calif.
 
    N90-18
 
    B-52/PEGASUS LAUNCH SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 4
  
     First mission of the Pegasus air-launched space booster is now
scheduled for April 4.  Pegasus will be launched from underneath the
wing of a B-52 aircraft operated by NASA's Ames- Dryden Flight
Research Facility, Edwards, Calif. 
 
     Pegasus is a three-stage space launch vehicle designed to deliver
small payloads into low Earth orbit.  Payloads for the first mission
include PEGSAT, which carries instrumentation, a small satellite and
barium chemical release experiments. 
 
     The Pegasus program is sponsored by the Department of Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency.  Pegasus was developed by Orbital
Sciences Corp., Fairfax, Va., and Hercules Aerospace Co., Wilmington, Del. 
 
     Launch will take place about 60 miles southwest of Monterey, over
the Pacific Ocean.  The event will be carried live on NASA Select
television, Satcom F-2R, transponder 13. 
 
     There will be a post-mission press briefing, also carried on NASA
Select, at the Ames-Dryden facility.  Media will be able to photograph
takeoff of the B-52/Pegasus.  Takeoff time is planned for 11 a.m. PDT,
with launch at about 12:10 p.m. PDT. 
 
     Media wishing to cover the mission should contact the Ames-
Dryden Public Affairs Office, 805/258-8381, no later than April 2. 
Media who plan to photograph takeoff must be at the Dryden News Center
no later than 9:45 a.m. PDT on launch day. 

Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Pegasus Update (Forwarded) - 03/28/90
Date: 28 Mar 90 18:04:05 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
   
                       Pegasus Update
                       March 28, 1990
 
    PEGSAT UPDATE:  "No hitches, no glitches."  That's the way the
countdown is moving along with Goddard's Pegasus satellite, now
scheduled for launch from a B-52 on April 4, according to Project
Manager Bob Pincus.  The two live barium canisters were attached to
the payload last Thursday, Pincus explained, and they were mated with
Pegasus on Friday.  Plans call for some further ground tests this
week, he explained, plus closing out on the thermal blankets and
installing the fairing.  The B-52 will carry the three-stage rocket
and payload under its right wing and climb to 42,600 feet (12,900
meters) where it will drop the rocket and payload some 50 miles off
the coast of California just west of Vandenberg Air Force Base.  The
NASA B-52 is scheduled to takeoff at 2:08 Eastern Time and make the
drop an hour later at 3:08 p.m., Pincus said. 
 
 Ron Baalke                       |    [email protected] 
 Jet Propulsion Lab  M/S 301-355  |    [email protected] 
 4800 Oak Grove Dr.               |
 Pasadena, CA 91109               |

    Any word?  There seems to be nothing on CNN (Headline) or on
    Clari-net's space or aerospace "channel".
    
    Burns

To answer my own question, the Globe this morning said the launch was posponed
because of weather.  No new date given.  A nice picture, though.  It showed the
Pegasus hanging from under the wing of the carrier aircraft about to be covered
by a "tarp".

Burns

Path: shlump.nac.dec.com!decwrl!looking!clarinews
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.urgent
Subject: Rocket launch delayed
Keywords: space, science, air transport, transportation, air force,
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: 4 Apr 90 18:43:38 GMT
Lines: 54
Approved: [email protected]
Xref: shlump.nac.dec.com clari.tw.space:33 clari.news.urgent:96
Location: california
ACategory: regional
Slugword: pegasus
Priority: regular
Format: regular
X-Supersedes: <[email protected]>
ANPA: Wc: 588; Id: c2015; Sel: sc--u; Adate: 4-4-1130apd; Ver: ld
Codes: ynssrca., ybtarca., ynmfrca., xxxxxxxx
Note: (5grafld-pickup7thgraf: david thompson -- launch postponed)


	EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (UPI) -- The maiden flight of a
unique winged rocket designed for launch from a B-52 bomber was
postponed Wednesday because of clouds over the Pacific Ocean. A new
launch date was not immediately announced.
	The Pegasus rocket, a joint venture between Orbital Sciences Corp.
of Fairfax, Va., and Hercules Aerospace Co. of Wilmington, Del., had
been scheduled to be dropped from the right wing of a NASA B-52 jet at
12:09 p.m. PDT over the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles southwest of
Monterey, Calif.
	But shortly before the jet was to take off from Edwards Air Force
Base, officials decided to postpone the launch for the day because of
unacceptable cloud cover in the drop zone.
	Pegasus was built as a private venture to develop a low-cost means
of putting small military, scientific and commercial satellites into
orbit that do not require the services of larger, more expensive
ground-launched boosters.
	The rocket is capable of putting satellites weighing up to 900
pounds into low-Earth orbits. Payloads weighing up to 1,500 pounds can
be launched on brief, sub-orbital flights.
	David Thompson, chairman of Orbital Sciences Corp., told Aviation
Week & Space Technology magazine last year ``there is absolute growth in
demand for launching satellites in the half-ton size range into low
orbit.''
	For the program's maiden flight, a 450-pound satellite built for
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency -- DARPA -- was on board,
along with a modest NASA scientific experiment.
	Equipped with a broad 22-foot-wide 600-pound delta wing made of
lightweight ``composite'' materials, the Pegasus first stage motor was
scheduled to ignite about five seconds after release from its B-52
carrier plane at an altitude of 40,000 feet.
	With the slender rocket flying due south over the Pacific Ocean,
the Pegasus flight plan called for small steering fins to guide the
missile sharply upward, exposing the wing to some 100,000 pounds of
aerodynamic force within 15 seconds of first stage ignition.
	The wing is bolted to the first stage of the 49.2-foot rocket,
which was built to boost the spacecraft to a speed of about Mach 8 --
eight times the speed of sound -- before falling away.
	Only the space shuttle flies at such extreme velocities, and
Orbital Sciences engineers had to rely on extensive computer modeling to
design the first stage wing and maneuvering fins.
	The rocket's second and third stages are more conventional, using
moveable nozzles and maneuvering thrusters for flight control.
	Orbital Sciences Corp., responsible for overall program management,
has spent close to $50 million developing the exotic rocket, according
to Aviation Week.
	``While Orbital Sciences ... expects to recover total program
development costs within the first 20 Pegasus launches, there are
currently only two firm launches scheduled, both for (DARPA),'' the
magazine reported. ``DARPA has agreed to pay $6 million for each
launch.''
	Pegasus No. 1 was to be dropped from the same B-52 bomber used to
launch manned X-15 rocket planes in the 1950s and 1960s. The B-52's
pilot is former space shuttle commander Gordon Fullerton.

Is this a reasonable way to restock the space station? It would give them the 
ability to taylor the inclination as needed. Is 900 pounds for $6m with an on 
demand capability reasonable? I would assume that the cost could be lowered 
with a demand for a regular supply. Consumables don't care about in flight 
conveniences ;^)

    They apparently launched it today.  Unfortunately the news article I
    heard had everything in a weird tense.  You know, the kind they use
    when what they are talking about should have happened by now, but
    they don't have confirmation.  ("The Pegasus was to have been launched
    from a B52...")  Actually, they said it was launched.  The weird tense
    was about how it was supposed to go into orbit.
    
    I suppose the odd tense may also have meant that the results were
    ~classified.  I did not think they were supposed to be, though.

    CNN show the Pegasus launch but I have not heard if it was 100%
    successful..
    
    john
    

    	I heard that the launch was a 100% success and even got a chance to
    hear some of the air-to-ground conversation on the radio late last
    night on my way home from a business trip (obviously pre-recorded). As
    to whether or no the Navy satellite launched by Pegasus is operating,
    I'm sure that part is "classified". I'm sure that there will be much
    more news about it over the course of today.
    
    Re: using Pegasus as a quick response resupply for the Space Station
    	In theory, yes it is very possible but the appropriate hardware to
    rendezvous with the station must be developed. Taking this hardware
    into account, it could possibly deliver a couple of hundred pounds of
    supplies to the station.
    
    				Drew
    

Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Pegsat Update (Forwarded) - 04/09/90
Date: 9 Apr 90 23:18:27 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
 
                           Pegsat Update
                           April 9, 1990
 
    PEGSAT UPDATE:  Pegsat is now orbiting Earth at an inclination of
94.15 degrees, within planned limits.  Orbit apogee is 687 km, perigee
is 508 km, and both are within planned limits.  Attempts to
communicate with the spacecraft as it passed over Goddard Space Flight
Center (GSFC) last night were successful the first time it came into
view.  Data on spin rate and internal temperatures is now being
analyzed.  The two chemical release events will occur over Northern
Canada between April 14-28, local weather permitting. 
 
 Ron Baalke                       |    [email protected] 
 Jet Propulsion Lab  M/S 301-355  |    [email protected] 
 4800 Oak Grove Dr.               |
 Pasadena, CA 91109               |

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Pegasus Status for 04/05/90 (Forwarded)
Date: 9 Apr 90 22:24:40 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
                      Pegasus  Mission Status  
       
     The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Pegasus air-
launched booster successfully completed its test flight today and
launched its first payload into space at 12:19 p.m PDT. 
 
     The NASA B-52 carrier aircraft, with Pegasus mounted under its
right wing, took off from the Dryden Flight Research Facility,
Edwards, Calif. at 11:03 PDT. The Pegasus separated from the B-52 at
12:10 p.m. PDT, at an altitude of approximately 43,000 feet.  Five
seconds later, the Pegasus' first-stage motor ignited. Following
ignition of the second and third stages, the Pegasus payload reached a
nominal altitude of 320 nautical miles. 
     
     The three-function payload, known as PEGSAT, behaved as expected.
 The small Navy experimental communications relay satellite was
deployed at 12:20 p.m. PDT.  The instrumentation incorporated into the
PEGSAT and the Pegasus vehicle successfully transmitted valuable data
during the launch sequence, which will be studied over the coming
months. The remaining task to be performed by PEGSAT is the release of
the NASA barium experiment, which is expected to occur during the last
two weeks in April. 
 
    Mary Sandy, DFRF Newsroom
    4/5/90; 1:25 p.m. PDT                                                 

  Here is the latest orbit, any idea when the release will be and will it
    be visable?  Any idea on there telephone number I think I will give
    them an call and see if they will release the info.

    PEGASUS-DARPA                  (Launch 90-28-  A)   Set:    3, Obj:  20546
          Epoch Year: 1990  Day:  96.042622010    Orbit #       3
          Inclination  =  94.15050000     R.A.A.N      = 176.86730000
          Eccentricity =   0.01326620     Arg of Per   = 223.37960000
          Mean Anomaly = 135.69330000     Mean Motion  =  14.93326819
          Drag         =  0.60145E-03     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6965.6641     Anom Period  =      96.4290
          Apogee Ht    =     679.9120     Perigee Ht   =     495.0962
                                                       

    

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NASA experiment to brighten Easter sky (Forwarded)
Date: 13 Apr 90 23:18:10 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                     April 13, 1990
(Phone:  202/453-1549)
 
Jim Elliott
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone:  301/286-8955)
  
    RELEASE:   90-54
 
    NASA EXPERIMENT TO BRIGHTEN EASTER SKY
  
     Residents of central Canada and the North Central United States
might experience a more colorful Easter than they expected.  If all
goes well, the sky in those areas will brighten with a rainbow of
colors from an experiment being conducted NASA. 
 
     The experiment is scheduled for 1:36 a.m. EDT, Easter Sunday.  At
that time, if conditions are right for the test, a canister of barium
will be discharged into space from an orbiting satellite 315 nautical
miles above Earth. 
 
     The satellite is Pegsat, launched on a Pegasus rocket on April 5,
1990.  Using a unique launching system, the Pegasus was carried aloft
under the wing of a NASA B-52 from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and
released at 43,000 feet.  The Pegasus launch vehicle then placed the
satellite into a 94.1 degree inclined orbit. 
 
     Based on the achieved orbit and the requirements for proper
lighting conditions, the chemical release window is approximately 2
weeks long starting the night of April 14, 1990. 
 
     When the barium is released, it will form a yellowish cloud.  The
cloud will change to a green and white color, which will fade away
while a purplish vertical streak develops and grows in length. 
 
     The Pegsat satellite, designed, built and tested at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., carries two canisters of
barium.  The second canister will be discharged at a later time. 
 
     Purpose of the experiment is to study the complex interactions 
of the fast-moving cloud of chemicals with Earth's magnetic field,
electric field and the space environment at the release altitude,
according to project scientist Dr. Robert A. Hoffman, of the Goddard
Space Flight Center.  He said the primary active chemical released is
vaporized barium, which, when struck by sunlight, becomes electrically
charged and emits its own characteristic light. 
 
    The releases will occur in a region over northern Canada between
Churchill and Yellowknife.  To observe them, scientists from
international laboratories will establish optical observing sites at
the Churchill Research Range and at Lynn Lake in Manitoba, Fort Smith
in the Northwest Territories, and at Stony Rapids, Saskatchewan. 
Other observation points have been established in the United States,
located in Massachusetts near Boston, in West Texas, New Mexico,
California and Washington, as well as Puerto Rico. 

Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Pegsat Update
Date: 23 Apr 90 20:42:34 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
 
                     TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 1990
 
    PEGSAT UPDATE:  Pegsat project officials at the Churchill Research
Range in Canada have reported the successful discharge of one of the
two barium canisters over Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories.  A
chemical cloud followed the discharge at 1:45 a.m. EDT Monday.  The
cloud was visible as far west as Vancouver, British Columbia. 
 
                     FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 1990
 
    PEGSAT UPDATE:  Project officials on Goddard's Pegsat project were
thwarted for the second time Wednesday night in igniting a barium
discharge from the Pegsat satellite.  Reason:  bad weather over
Central Canada.  Dr. Robert A. Hoffman, Project Scientist, said the
next opportunity for the project to make a barium discharge would come
Friday at 24 minutes after midnight EDT.  The project, following a
successful launch of the satellite on April 5 from under the wing of a
NASA B-52 off the coast of California, successfully fired one of the
two barium canisters earlier in the week.  The barium cloud created by
the discharge was sighted by persons on the ground in Western Canada
and in the Northwest United States and by optical sighting locations
in both the United States and Canada.  The experiments are designed to
make studies of Earth's magnetic and electrical fields. 
 
 Ron Baalke                       |    [email protected] 
 Jet Propulsion Lab  M/S 301-355  |    [email protected] 
 4800 Oak Grove Dr.               |
 Pasadena, CA 91109               |

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NASA Headline News for 06/05/90 (Forwarded)
Date: 5 Jun 90 16:27:00 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, June 5, 1990                Audio Service:  202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, June 5:
 
A second Pegasus launch by Orbital Sciences Corporation is scheduled
for early this fall, according to Space Fax Daily.  The payload will
be seven microsatellites currently under construction by Defense
Systems, Inc.  It will be for the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency. 
---------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA 
Select TV.  All times are Eastern.
  
    Tuesday, June 5:
 
       12:00-2:00 P.M.        NASA Video Productions.
                                Birth and death of a star.
                                Supernova 2.
                                Life and the solar system.
                                Robotics in the Space Station.
                                Computer animation movies on
                                  the Earth and Mars.
                                Neptune encounter highlights.
  
    Wednesday, June 6:
 
        2:00 P.M.             Voyager I Solar System "Family
                              Portrait" news conference.
  
    Thursday, June 7:
 
       11:30 A.M.             NASA Update will be transmitted. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
All events and times are subject to change without notice.  These 
reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 P.M. 
EDT.  This is a service of the Internal Communications Branch, 
NASA HQ.  Contact: JSTANHOPE on NASAmail or at 202/453-8425.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Select TV:  Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band 72 Degrees 
West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

A second Pegasus launch by Orbital Sciences Corporation is
scheduled for early this fall, according to Space Fax Daily.  The
payload will be seven microsatellites currently under
construction by Defense Systems, Inc.  It will be for the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Courtesy NASA Headline News...

From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: NASA Headline News for 06/05/90 (Forwarded)
Date: 5 Jun 90 16:27:00 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
  

N91-49  (7/10/91)

      The second mission of the Pegasus air-launched space booster is scheduled
for July 17.  Pegasus will be launched from beneath the wing of a NASA B-52
aircraft based at Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, Calif.

      Pegasus is designed to deliver small payloads into low Earth orbit.  The
program is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Orbital Sciences Corp., Fairfax, Va., and Hercules Aerospace Co., Wilmington,
Del., developed the Pegasus vehicle.  The payload for this launch is called
Microsat, a DARPA project consisting of 7 small DOD satellites that will be
deployed around the Earth.

      Launch will take place over the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles southwest of
Monterey, Calif. The launch will be carried live on NASA Select television,
Satcom F-2R, transponder 13.  There will be no commentary, but actual
air-to-ground transmissions may be available.

    the b52 will lift off at 10:10est and drop the payload at just
    after 1300
    
    jb
    

    reports from Dryden is that takeoff will be 0900 PDT or 1200 EDT
    and drop time is apx 10:15 PDT, so the drop times are about the
    same but the take off times seems more in line.
    
    john
    

from Johanthan McDowell
I have the following report:

Takeoff was at 1625 UTC with drop at 1734 UTC.
Performance was good through third stage burn,
then it went out of range of live telemetry.
They were expecting to pick it up at the Indian
Ocean ground station about 1840 UTC (20 min ago)
to confirm 4th stage burn and spacecraft sep.
  - Jonathan
 
anyone hear if all went ok, when I get the nasa element sets I will post.
    
    jb
    

From: [email protected]
Subject: Fate of rocket's payload unknown
Date: 17 Jul 91 22:25:34 GMT
 
 
	EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (UPI) -- An unique winged rocket
carrying seven small Pentagon satellites was launched from a high-flying
B-52 jet Wednesday but controllers lost track of the payload after a
possible malfunction.
	``At this time, we do not have data on the final outcome of the
mission and the satellite deployment,'' said Army Maj. Robert Bonometti,
mission director for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,
which sponsored the project.
	The white, 49-foot commercially built Pegasus rocket, making its
second flight, was dropped from the right wing of a NASA B-52 at 1:33 p.
m. PDT as the eight-engine jet was cruising due south 43,100 feet over
the Pacific Ocean about 65 miles off the coast of southern California.
	Mounted in its nosecone were seven 49-pound ``Microsat'' research
satellites, provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The Microsats were equipped with radio gear capable of relaying data,
messages, electronic mail, facsimile and imagery transmissions around
the world.
	Pegasus rockets are built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Fairfax, Va.,
and Hercules Aerospace Co. of Wilmington, Del., in a private venture to
develop a low-cost means of putting small satellites into orbit that do
not require the services of larger, more expensive ground-launched
boosters.
	Five seconds after release from the B-52, the first stage of the
falling 41,000-pound rocket ignited with a gush of incandescent flame to
kick off a 36-minutes climb to an orbit around Earth's poles.
	``Stage one ignition,'' an unidentified engineer said as the rocket
fired up.
	Equipped with computer-controlled steering fins at the base of the
first stage, the slender rocket quickly shot ahead of the slower B-52
and into a steep climb that subjected its unconventional 22-foot-wide
delta wing to some 100,000 pounds of aerodynamic force.
	The first stage fell away after boosting the rocket to some eight
times the speed of sound and an altitude of 30 miles about 84 seconds
after ignition. The rocket's more conventionally designed second and
third stages then fired to push the payload to an alitude of about 100
miles.
	The Pegasus liquid-fueled fourth stage then began the first of two
planned firings when contact with the spacecraft was lost.
	Bonometti said an anomaly of some sort appeared to occur when the
first stage was jettisoned 84 seconds after the flight began.
	Even so, he said analysis indicated the rocket's guidance system had
the capability to compensate for the expected loss of performance from
the apparent malfunction. But contact could not be immediately
established with the Microsats, raising the possibility of a major
failure.
	``Presently, we are using all available space tracking assets to
reacquire the Microsats,'' he said.
	Orbital Sciences suffered an embarrassing failure last month when one
of its smaller rockets tumbled out of control during a ground launch
from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
	Pegasus rockets, which cost between $6 million and $7 million each,
can boost payloads weighing up to 900 pounds into low-Earth orbit while
payloads weighing up to 1,500 pounds can be launched on shorter sub-
orbital flights.
	The air-launched rocket system's maiden flight was successfully
carried out April 5, 1990. The launch Wednesday was the second in the
program.
	By launching in mid-air from a B-52, Pegasus rockets can be built out
of lighter materials, allowing heavier payloads to be placed into orbit
than would be possible for a ground-based rocket of similar power.
	The B-52 used Wednesday was the same one used to launch more than 100
X-15 rocket plane flights in the 1960s. At the controls were pilot Ed
Schneider and co-pilot Gordon Fullerton, a retired space shuttle
commander.
	While NASA provided the B-52 carrier for the Pegasus mission, the
space agency had nothing else to do with the commercially launched
rocket.

 
Below are elements two pieces from the Pegasus launch.  
According to CNN, NORAD is trying to find the seven satellites; 
NASA lost track of them because one of their tracking radars
malfunction at about the time of the deployment.

The report indicated that the deployment had taken place, 
but that the satellites have not been heard from.
 
According to an earlier CNN report, the satellites are 0.483 m across.
 

    1991-051A                      Obj:  21580
          Epoch Year: 1991  Day: 198.966393500    Orbit #       2
          Inclination  =  82.03290000     R.A.A.N      = 262.09410000
          Eccentricity =   0.00724510     Arg of Per   =  57.32190000
          Mean Anomaly = 305.58210000     Mean Motion  =  15.52808261
          Drag         =  0.26000E-06     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6786.6255     Anom Period  =      92.7352
          Apogee Ht    =     457.6352     Perigee Ht   =     359.2957

    1991-051H                      2, Obj:  21587
          Epoch Year: 1991  Day: 199.095731200    Orbit #       4
          Inclination  =  82.02820000     R.A.A.N      = 261.96100000
          Eccentricity =   0.00866870     Arg of Per   =  48.75110000
          Mean Anomaly = 312.13990000     Mean Motion  =  15.48834934
          Drag         =  0.27000E-06     Frequency    =        0.000
          S.M.A.       =    6798.2273     Anom Period  =      92.9731
          Apogee Ht    =     478.9991     Perigee Ht   =     361.1355
    

Article         1516
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military
Subject: Satellites boosted into wrong orbit
Date: 18 Jul 91 19:10:32 GMT
  
	EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (UPI) -- A winged rocket
launched from a B-52 jet boosted seven small Pentagon research
satellites into the wrong orbit Wednesday, but officials said Thursday
they would still be able to accomplish the goals of the project. 

	The white, 49-foot-long commercially built Pegasus rocket,
making its second flight, was dropped from the right wing of a NASA
B-52 at 10:33 a.m. PDT Wednesday as the eight-engine jet was cruising
due south 43,100 feet over the Pacific Ocean about 65 miles off the
coast of Southern California. 

	Mounted in its nosecone were seven 49-pound ``Microsat''
research satellites, provided by the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency, or DARPA. The Microsats were equipped with radio gear
capable of relaying data, messages, electronic mail, facsimile and
imagery transmissions around the world. 

	All four stages of the rocket fired, but a problem with the
separation of the first and second stages changed the vehicle's
trajectory and caused the seven-satellite payload to wind up in an
incorrect elliptical orbit with a high point of 282 miles and a low
point of 220 miles. 

	Ground controllers were unable to locate the satellites for
several hours. 

	But at 10:23 p.m. Wednesday, the payload passed over a ground
station in Washington ``and at that time, initial contact with the
deployed cluster of satellites was made,'' the Air Force said in a
statement. 

	``The final orbit achieved by the Microsats is expected to
achieve the objectives of DARPA's military demonstration program,''
the statement said. 

	Pegasus rockets are built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of
Fairfax, Va., and Hercules Aerospace Co. of Wilmington, Del., in a
private venture to develop a low-cost means of putting small satellites 
into orbit that do not require the services of larger, more expensive 
ground-launched boosters. 

	Orbital Sciences suffered an embarrassing failure last month
when one of its smaller rockets tumbled out of control during a ground
launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla. 

	Pegasus rockets, which cost between $6 million and $7 million
each, can boost payloads weighing up to 900 pounds into low-Earth
orbit while payloads weighing up to 1,500 pounds can be launched on
shorter sub- orbital flights. 

	The air-launched rocket system's maiden flight was successfully 
carried out April 5, 1990.  The launch Wednesday was the second in the 
program. 

Article        15391
From: [email protected] (Jeffrey J Bloch)
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space
Subject: ALEXIS Satellite to be on 3rd Pegasus Flight
Date: 24 Jul 91 22:23:55 GMT
Organization: Los Alamos Natl Lab, Los Alamos, N.M.
  
Los Alamos National Laboratory	Public Information Group
Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87545	News Release
 
An Equal Opportunity Employer/Operated by University of California
  
CONTACT:  John R. Gustafson, 505-665-7777
 
ALEXIS SATELLITE WILL GIVE NEW VIEW OF X-RAY SKY
 
SEATTLE, May 28, 1991 - A footlocker-sized satellite sporting six 
sophisticated X-ray telescopes represents the latest in a series of 
small, special-purpose satellites designed at Los Alamos National 
Laboratory.

    Called ALEXIS, or Array of Low-Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors, the 
satellite is scheduled for launch in the fall by a Pegasus rocket 
carried aloft on a B-52 aircraft. Its wide-field telescopes will 
survey the sky in three narrow bands of "soft," or low-energy, X-ray 
light.

    Los Alamos hopes to include data from ALEXIS in NASA's 
astrophysical data program so that it can be used by the community 
of astronomy researchers, says Jeffrey Bloch of Los Alamos' Space 
Astronomy and Astrophysics Group.

    Bloch reports on ALEXIS and opportunities for guest investigators at 
the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, Wash., on 
Tuesday, May 28. 

    "ALEXIS will provide a wealth of data on the soft-X-ray background 
radiation," Bloch says. The background of low-energy X-rays 
discovered in earlier studies is thought to emanate from an 
interstellar gas with a temperature of about one million degrees.

    "Data from ALEXIS will help us identify what the hot gas is and what 
the mechanism is by which it emits soft X-rays," Bloch says.

    ALEXIS' six telescopes - each with a 30-degree-wide field of view - 
will scan the entire sky every six months. This long-term monitoring 
will enable it to search for variations in soft-X-ray emission from 
sources such as white dwarfs, cataclysmic variable stars and flare stars.

    The spacecraft will also search nearby space for such exotic objects 
as isolated neutron stars and gamma-ray bursters.

    "It's a scientific longshot, but if we discover a soft-X-ray 
counterpart to a gamma-ray burst that would be a major finding, 
establishing these objects as local sources and giving us a clue as to 
what happens to create the burst," Bloch says. Twenty years after 
they were first discovered by Los Alamos scientists, gamma-ray 
bursts remain largely enigmatic.

    Although the scientific returns from ALEXIS could be large, Bill 
Priedhorsky, Los Alamos staff member and ALEXIS project leader, 
emphasizes that "ALEXIS is a technology development mission that 
uses astrophysical sources to demonstrate the technology." 
The telescopes on ALEXIS, each about the size of a coffee can, use 
curved mirrors with special multi-layer coatings that reflect and 
image the X-ray light much the way that optical telescopes image 
visible light. 

    Such multi-layer coatings have only recently become commercially 
available; ALEXIS represents their first orbital application. 
Existing X-ray satellites, such as the European Space Agency's 
ROSAT, use so-called "grazing incidence" telescopes that can only 
reflect X-rays at very small angles, like a stone skipping across a 
pond.

    Controlling the structure of the layered mirrors determines the X-
ray energies that each mirror reflects. ALEXIS has three pairs of 
telescopes that can image narrow bands of soft X-ray light centered 
at 62 electron-volts (eV), 72 eV and 93 eV, respectively.
By comparison, a typical medical X-ray has an energy of about 
80,000 eV.

    ALEXIS also incorporates state-of-the-art detectors - shaped to 
match the image formed by the spherically curved mirrors - to 
detect and record the X-rays captured and focused by the mirrors. 
The detectors were developed by scientists at the Space Sciences 
Laboratory at UC Berkeley. 

    ALEXIS balances its advanced technological components with off-
the-shelf hardware. It uses a commercially available satellite 
framework from AeroAstro Inc. to minimize costs and speed 
development. At time of launch, only three and a half years will have 
elapsed since the program to build and fly ALEXIS began.

    ALEXIS will be controlled from a ground station at Los Alamos. The 
radio dish used to communicate with the satellite is smaller than 
many backyard television dishes. A Macintosh computer is used to 
control ground station operations and give orders to the satellite.
ALEXIS will travel in a circular orbit tipped 65 degrees from the 
equator. It will be out of sight of the Los Alamos ground station for 
many orbits, and then pass overhead for two to three consecutive orbits.

    During those passes over Los Alamos the satellite will transmit
its accumulated observations, stored in an onboard computer. The
onboard data-processing system was built by Sandia National
Laboratories in Albuquerque. 

    Because of the way ALEXIS operates, its data-processing 
requirements are large. The spacecraft spins to maintain a stable 
orientation, so its telescopes constantly sweep across the sky. The 
arrival of every X-ray signal registered has to be carefully timed so 
the signals can be reconstructed to give a still picture of the sky.

    Los Alamos has a long history of developing sensors for space 
missions. "Normally we have to piggyback on large platforms," says 
Don Cobb, leader of the space science and technology division at Los 
Alamos. "Small satellites get us in the realm where we can build and 
fly sensors as part of our technology development program." 

    Los Alamos designed the Chemical Release Observation satellites 
that were successfully used on the recent Discovery shuttle flight 
to study the plumes of various rocket fuel chemicals.

    And in testimony before Congress this month, Los Alamos Director 
Sig Hecker proposed that Los Alamos help develop "a fast-track 
program to fly one or more small satellites carrying Earth-radiation 
measuring instruments." Such satellites could provide interim data 
needed to understand the effect of clouds and other atmospheric 
events on the global climate until the time NASA's Earth Orbiting 
Satellite system is ready for launch in the late 1990s.
 
ALEXIS is funded through the Department of Energy's Office of Arms 
Control. The 240-pound satellite cost about $15 million.
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a multidisciplinary research 
organization that applies science and technology to problems of 
national security ranging from defense to energy research. It is 
operated by the University of California for the Department of Energy.

    According to an article in the Jan 27 issue of SPACE NEWS A full-scale
    ground test is schedule for late Feb is intended to verify that Orbital
    Sciences Corp.(ORBI)  The Pegaus contractor, has corrected a flaw that
    prevented a protective shroud from separating correctly from the rocket
    during the previous Pegasus fligh on 17 July 1991.
    
    This test will be done at Hercules Aerospace Co Magna Utah.
    
    During the 17 July flight three significaen flight anomalies were
    reported to have happen.
    
    The most significant was the failure of the 1st stage to seperate
    correctly.  It hung on and cause the booster to briefly veer downward
    and to the left.  ORBITAL SCIENCE said that the most likly cause
    was a defect in the ordnance use to separate it.  The ordance is
    use to 'melt' a ring that hold the booster.
    
    Then 2nd malfunction occured after 215 sec, after the 2nd stage
    finished the right half of the clamshell faring did not seperate
    immediately as planned.  ORBI thinks this was caused by a rod that
    should push it away jarred out of its socket.  It has been redesign
    to have a deeper socket and a spring to hold it in place.
    
    Then the 3rd malfunction had to do with the 'augmentation motors' that
    where mounted on the fins of the Pegasus 1st stage.  Investigators
    discoverd that an adhesive used in the motors may have changed with age
    and caused the motors to rupture shortly after ignition.  Strange name
    for a motor.  Any one have an idea what they are.  Could they have been
    used to correct any deviation on the desired flight plan.. and I wonder
    if this infomation was obtained by TLM or do they have a way to 
    recover the 1st stage?
    
    If All goes as expected then ALEXIS will be launch in MARCH,
    
    ALEXIS is ready
    
    this will be the 3rd Pegasus launch.
    
    
       john
    

    The augmentation motors are three sets of three solid propellant
    rockets that are buried in the trailing edge of each of the first stage
    control surfaces. They are made by Industrial Solid Propulsion (aka
    Aerotech in the model rocket field).
    
    They are ignited late in the first stage burn as the atmosphere is
    becoming too thin for the control surfaces to be effective. They work
    as a reaction control system. Since the fins already move for
    aerodynamic control, the same mechanics and control electronics can be
    used for both aerodynamic and augmented guidance modes. Quite clever,
    IMO.
    
    When I examined one I got the impression that the major elements were
    bolted together, but they may use adhesive seals. Getting those right
    is a major problem with small rocket motors.
    
    gary

Date: 21 Mar 92 00:24:09 GMT
From: [email protected]  (Nick Szabo)
Subject: OSC tibits

Some tidbits on Orbital Sciences Corp. from February and March:

* The major 1950s space startup, TRW, has let a $10.8 million contract
to the major 1980s startup, OSC, to launch TRW's SDIO technology
testbed on Pegasus.  Pegasus backlog is now 11 firm orders, 43
options. OSC is persuing the market for test and replacement launches
of Brilliant Eyes and Brilliant Pebbles, and testing SDIO technology
destined for larger platforms. 

* OSC got the frequency it wanted for its OrbComm mobile comsat system
from the latest WARC, and is confident of getting final FCC approval
this summer. 

* Several U.S. phone cell and mobile satellite proposals also got
frequencies at the WARC, and the FCC must choose between them.  Many
of these may use Pegasus for launching test and replacement satellites. 
The proposals total more than 300 satellites for $7 billion, but the 
FCC will likely trim this down to 150 satellites for $4 billion. 

* OSC has signed an agreement with several companies to market SeaStar
data, from which OSC gets 20% royalties.  OSC last year signed a $43
million contract to provide this data to NASA as part of Mission to
Planet Earth. 

Nick Szabo
[email protected]					
-- 
[email protected]  Public Access User --- Not affiliated with TECHbooks
Public Access UNIX and Internet at (503) 644-8135 (1200/2400, N81)

Unoffical I have heard that there are still  problems with
the Pegasus 1st stage rocket nozzle and the payload faring.
I would not expect the next launch to happen before early 1993

john
    

Pegasus launched today, apparently successfully, with Gordon Fullerton at the
controls of the B-52.

According to a usenet posting, just seconds before the launch, someone called
"Abort abort!"  over the NASA Select audio.  Just as the Pegasus was released,
someone said, "Did someone say Abort?"

The poster said that the RSO had lost contact with the abort receiver on the
Pegasus.  Luckily it was not needed.  Heckuva thing, though, when an RSO is unable
to abort a launch!  (Reminds me of Chuck Yeager stories; I wonder if maybe Gordon
really DID hear him...)

Burns

Well, Pegasus has just had its first total launch failure.  Last week a Pegasus
XL attempted to put the STEP1 (and other) satellites in orbit, but had a
first-stage failure and was aborted.  This came from Jonathon's Space Report.  I
have seen no other info on it.

Burns

From: [email protected] (Pat)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Pegasus XL loss laid to computer error
Date: 29 Jul 1994 16:35:25 -0400
Organization: .
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Message-ID: <[email protected]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: clark.net
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Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit


a board report seems to indicate that faulty CFD calculations for the
Pegasus Xl failed to predict a high speed vibration (Flutter) int he
air stream of the XL.  the flutter exceeded the control authority of the 
vehicle causing loss of attitude control.

the Pegasus and XL were both designed entirely via CFD to save money on
tunnel testing.  experts in the field were not happy with that decision.

the XL is being scheduled for tunnel tests, now.

pat

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nothing is as important as it seems.

RE: <<< Note 507.52 >>>

>the flutter exceeded the control authority of the vehicle causing loss of
>attitude control. 

This doesn't make much sense to me. With typical flutter problems, control
authority has nothing to do with overcoming the flutter. Flutter problems are
usually solved by strengthening the surface (e.g., the F-18's vertical tail
cleats) and/or altering the aerodynamics of the vehicle (e.g., the F-15's
notched horizontal tailplanes). Control authority (the ability to generate
certain moments of force) is irrelevant, like what color the vehicle is
painted.
						-- Tom

    If the control surface itself is fluttering, that will certainly impact
    control authority. Attempting to compensate for flight deviations
    caused by the flutter may result in increased flutter, requiring more
    compensation, causing more flutter, etc.
    
    Additionally, about halfway through the first stage burn the Pegasus
    ignites small rocket engines in the trailing edges of the tail surfaces
    so flutter in those surfaces will also produce a thrust imbalance
    causing more problems with attitude control.
    
    gary

The flutter may have been caused by the effect overpowering the surface actuator.

The term "control authority" is very well accepted to refer to the aerodynamic
power of the surface to create roll, pitch, or yaw moments (torques). In
conventional usage control authority is different than control surface actuator
strength. If the real problem is with the actuators being overloaded or jammed,
then using the term control authority is a very poor description. 

Yesterday's Aviation Week has a brief article on this. It is stated there that
the cause is thought to be, in part, an unexpectedly high induced roll rate due
to sideslip, which the flight control software was not programmed to deal with.
No mention was made of flutter at all. 
						-- Tom

At least this time, someone heard the abort call :-)


To: [email protected]
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: alumni.caltech.edu
X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 #12 (NOV)

The Pegasus launch scheduled for 3/19 was scrubbed before release from
the carrier airplane after insulation started peeling away from the
nose of the rocket.

The carrier airplane returned to Vandenburg.  I do not know when the
launch will be re-attempted, presumably they have to figure out
how to keep the insulation  on.

The rocket carried four satellites, which were operating well at the
time the launch was scrubbed.  Two of the spacecraft were Orbcomm
little LEO communications satellites.  The third spacecraft was
a Marshall Space Flight Center scientific research satellite which
would have studied light flashes from thunderstorms, and would
also have probed the atmosphere by observing signals from GPS
satellites as they vanished behind the Earth.

-- 
		David M. Palmer		[email protected]

Apparently a Pegasus XL was successfully launched on April 3 placing 2 Orbcom
satellites and another NASA sat in orbit.

Burns

Well, it looks like another Pegasus XL failure.   Last Thursday, they lost radio
contact after the 2nd stage burn started.

Burns

July 2, the Pegasus XL successfully put a satellite into orbit.   Apparently
they correctly found the problems with the first two flights (including
incorrect modelling of the airflow characteristics of the bird...they had saved
development money by not doing wind-tunnel testing, as I recall.  They have done
it now!)

Burns