Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral - October 10/11, 2019

[Steven Pietrobon]

This is a fun launch. Next mission is Solar Observatory in February next year.

[starbase]

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/1182480640178036737

[Steven Pietrobon]

Wrapping up, launch replay and end of webcast.

Congratulations to Northrop Grumman and NASA for the successful launch!

[Steven Pietrobon]

Solar arrays have deployed!

Northrop Grumman
‏Verified account @northropgrumman
4 minutes ago

Success! #NASAICON solar array deployment is complete. #NorthropGrumman

https://twitter.com/northropgrumman/status/1182487082641563648

[Salo]

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-spacecraft-launches-on-mission-to-explore-frontier-of-space

A Northrop Grumman Stargazer L-1011 aircraft took off at 8:31 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying ICON, on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, to launch altitude of about 39,000 feet. The first launch opportunity around 9:30 was skipped due to communication issues between the ground team at Cape Canaveral and the aircraft. On the second attempt, the aircraft crew released its payload at 9:59 p.m. EDT and automated systems on the Pegasus rocket launched ICON, a spacecraft roughly the size of a refrigerator, into space.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2019/10/10/icon-successfully-launches-from-pegasus-xl-rocket/

A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket launched NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite at 9:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 10 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) to study the dynamic zone in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above.

The satellite was attached to the Pegasus XL rocket, which hitched a ride on the company’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. Once the aircraft reached an altitude of 39,000 feet, the rocket was dropped, with ignition occurring five seconds after.

[Rondaz]

ICON Successfully Launches from Pegasus XL Rocket

Anna Heiney Posted on October 10, 2019

y Launches from Pegasus XL Rocket
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Northrop Grumman’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, with the company’s Pegasus XL rocket attached beneath, takes off from the Skid Strip runway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Oct. 10, 2019. NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is secured inside the rocket's payload fairing
Northrop Grumman’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, with the company’s Pegasus XL rocket attached beneath, takes off from the Skid Strip runway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Oct. 10, 2019. NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is secured inside the rocket’s payload fairing. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket launched NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite at 9:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 10 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) to study the dynamic zone in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above.

The satellite was attached to the Pegasus XL rocket, which hitched a ride on the company’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. Once the aircraft reached an altitude of 39,000 feet, the rocket was dropped, with ignition occurring five seconds after.

ICON is expected to improve the forecasts of extreme space weather by utilizing in-situ and remote-sensing instruments to survey the variability of Earth’s ionosphere. The mission also will help determine the physics of our space environment, paving the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2019/10/10/icon-successfully-launches-from-pegasus-xl-rocket/

[Rondaz]

ICON Begins Study of Earth’s Ionosphere

Danielle Sempsrott Posted on October 10, 2019

A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket launched NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite at 9:59 p.m. EDT on Oct. 10 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) to study the dynamic zone in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above.

The satellite was attached to the Pegasus XL rocket, which hitched a ride on the company’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. Once the aircraft reached an altitude of 39,000 feet, the rocket was dropped, with ignition occurring five seconds after.

“This is a fun launch. In my operational function, this is about as good as it gets,” said Omar Baez, launch director in NASA’s Launch Services Program. “The anxiety level is higher, the adrenaline is flowing, but what a cool way to fly.”

Originally targeting a 9:30 p.m. drop, NASA and Northrop Grumman determined to bypass the first drop attempt due to a loss of communication between ground teams at CCAFS and the Stargazer.

“When your launch pad is moving at 500/600 miles per hour, things happen,” said Baez. “The first attempt got us because we lost positive communication with the aircraft and the ground, and our rule is to abort the flight and go back around and try it again. And we were able to execute it flawlessly.”

The region of space where ICON will conduct its study – the ionosphere – comprises of winds that are influenced by many different factors: Earth’s seasons, the heating and cooling that takes place throughout the day, and bursts of radiation from the Sun. This region also is where radio communications and GPS signals travel, and fluctuations within the ionosphere can cause significant disruptions to these critical technologies.

As a response to the recent scientific discovery that the ionosphere is significantly impacted by storms in Earth’s lower atmosphere, Northrop Grumman designed, integrated and tested the ICON satellite under a contract from the University of California Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory. NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis and launch management.

The ICON mission is part of NASA’s Explorer Program managed by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland for the Science Mission Directorate in Washington, which aims to provide frequent flight opportunities for small- to medium-sized spacecraft that are capable of being built, tested and launched in a shorter period of time.

ICON is expected to improve the forecasts of extreme space weather by utilizing in-situ and remote-sensing instruments to survey the variability of Earth’s ionosphere. The mission also will help determine the physics of our space environment, paving the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/icon/2019/10/10/icon-begins-study-of-earths-ionosphere/

[Rondaz]

ICON and the Pegasus 3rd stage cataloged in 569 x 569 km x 27.0 deg orbits, confirming success of the 44th Pegasus launch.

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1182517202207031297

[jacqmans]

October 11, 2019
RELEASE 19-082

NASA Spacecraft Launches on Mission to Explore Frontier of Space

After successfully launching Thursday night, NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) spacecraft is in orbit for a first-of-its-kind mission to study a region of space where changes can disrupt communications and satellite orbits, and even increase radiation risks to astronauts.

A Northrop Grumman Stargazer L-1011 aircraft took off at 8:31 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying ICON, on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, to launch altitude of about 39,000 feet. The first launch opportunity around 9:30 was skipped due to communication issues between the ground team at Cape Canaveral and the aircraft. On the second attempt, the aircraft crew released its payload at 9:59 p.m. EDT and automated systems on the Pegasus rocket launched ICON, a spacecraft roughly the size of a refrigerator, into space.

The spacecraft’s solar panels successfully deployed, indicating it has power with all systems operating. After an approximately month-long commissioning period, ICON will begin sending back its first science data in November.

ICON will study changes in a region of the upper atmosphere called the ionosphere. In addition to interfering with communications signals, space weather in the ionosphere can also prematurely decay spacecraft orbits and expose astronauts to radiation-borne health risks. Historically, this critical region of near-Earth space has been difficult to observe. Spacecraft can’t travel through the low parts of the ionosphere and balloons can’t travel high enough.

“ICON has an important job to do – to help us understand the dynamic space environment near our home,” said Nicola Fox, director for heliophysics at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “ICON will be the first mission to simultaneously track what’s happening in Earth’s upper atmosphere and in space to see how the two interact, causing the kind of changes that can disrupt our communications systems.”

ICON explores the connections between the neutral atmosphere and the electrically charged ionosphere with four instruments. Three of the instruments rely on one of the upper atmosphere’s more spectacular phenomena: colorful bands called airglow. 

Airglow is created by a similar process that creates the aurora – gas is excited by radiation from the Sun and emits light. Though aurora are typically confined to extreme northern and southern latitudes, airglow happens constantly across the globe, and is much fainter. But it’s still bright enough for ICON’s instruments to build up a picture of the ionosphere’s density, composition and structure. By way of airglow, ICON can observe how particles throughout the upper atmosphere are moving.

ICON’s fourth instrument provides direct measurements of the ionosphere around it. This instrument characterizes the charged gases immediately surrounding the spacecraft.

“We put as much capability on this satellite that could possibly fit on the payload deck,” said Thomas Immel, the principal investigator for ICON at the University of California, Berkeley. “All those instruments are focused on the ionosphere in a completely new science mission that starts now.”

ICON’s orbit around Earth places it at a 27-degree inclination and altitude of about 360 miles. From there, it can observe the ionosphere around the equator. ICON will aim its instruments for a view of what's happening at the lowest boundary of space, from about 55 miles up to 360 miles above the surface. This rapid orbit circles Earth in 97 minutes while precessing around the equator, allowing ICON to sample a wide range of latitude, longitude and local times.

ICON is an Explorer-class mission. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorer Program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The University of California at Berkeley developed the ICON mission and the two ultraviolet imaging spectrographs, Extreme Ultra-Violet instrument and the Far Ultra-Violet instrument. The Naval Research Laboratory in Washington developed the Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging instrument. The University of Texas in Dallas developed the Ion Velocity Meter. The spacecraft was built by Northrop Grumman in Dulles, Virginia. The Mission Operations Center at UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory is tasked with operating the ICON mission.   

For more information on ICON, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/icon

[jacqmans]

Northrop Grumman Successfully Launches NASA ICON Satellite on Pegasus Rocket

Ninth science mission for which the company both built and launched the satellite for NASA

Dulles, Va. – Oct. 10, 2019 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced its Pegasus® XL rocket successfully launched the company-built Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite for NASA. The launch marked the 44th overall flight of the world’s first privately-developed commercial space launch vehicle, and ICON marks the ninth science satellite to be both built and launched by the company for NASA.

The first phase of the launch was aboard Northrop Grumman’s "Stargazer" L-1011 carrier aircraft. Shortly after release from Stargazer, Pegasus ignited, carrying ICON to its intended 575-kilometer orbit.

“We are proud to have another successful launch of Pegasus,” said Rich Straka, vice president, launch vehicles, Northrop Grumman. “Today’s launch is a testament to the team’s expertise and determination to provide our customer with mission success.”

NASA’s ICON satellite will study the frontier of space – the dynamic zone high in Earth’s atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. Northrop Grumman designed and manufactured the spacecraft for ICON at its Dulles satellite manufacturing facility, and tested and verified the spacecraft at the company’s location in Gilbert, Arizona. The satellite is based on the company’s LEOStar-2™ bus, a flight-proven and flexible satellite platform that accommodates a wide variety of missions.

“Our initial data shows the spacecraft is in good health and performing as expected,” said Steve Krein, vice president, civil and commercial satellites, Northrop Grumman. “The successful launch of ICON continues to demonstrate Northrop Grumman’s legacy of delivering innovative space science missions for NASA. ICON marks the latest in a long line of scientific spacecraft we have developed and built for NASA over the last 35 years.”

ICON will help determine the physics of Earth’s space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on technology, communications systems and society. Northrop Grumman has previously built multiple explorer satellites buses for NASA, including the NuSTAR, Swift, GALEX, AIM and IBEX spacecraft. Northrop Grumman is also currently manufacturing the Landsat-9 and JPSS-2 spacecraft for NASA. Both satellites use the company’s larger LEOStar-3™ bus.

As an air-launched system, Pegasus has unparalleled flexibility to operate from virtually anywhere on Earth with minimal ground support requirements. In fact, Pegasus missions have launched from five separate sites in the U.S., Europe and the Marshall Islands. Pegasus is the leading launch system for the deployment of small satellites into low earth orbit. As the only NASA Category 3 vehicle in the small-launch class, Pegasus is certified to launch NASA’s most valuable small satellites.

[zubenelgenubi]

Congratulations to the entire launch team!  Especially to for the Pegasus handlers who have collectively worked for years, through several setbacks, on this campaign!  And to the ICON team!

And thank you to Steven, Chris B, and Chris G for the launch coverage.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[starchasercowboy]

ICON is performing well 
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146079/iconic-views-of-the-atmosphere

[The Phantom]

Sadly, the Pegasus chief engineer got the boot in December. I would imagine he was the scapegoat for the enormous loss NGIS took with all the delays to the ICON launch.

[Rondaz]

ICON Mission Out of Contact

Denise Hill Posted on December 7, 2022

On Nov. 25, 2022, NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) team lost contact with the spacecraft. The ICON spacecraft is equipped with a built-in onboard command loss timer that will power cycle or reset the spacecraft after contact is lost for eight days. On Dec. 5, after the power cycle was complete, the team was still unable to acquire a downlink signal from the spacecraft. The team is currently still working to establish a connection.

Working with the Department of Defense’s Space Surveillance Network, the team has verified that ICON remains intact.

The ICON mission team is working to troubleshoot the issue and has narrowed the cause of the communication loss to problems within the avionics or radio-frequency communications subsystems. The team is currently unable to determine the health of the spacecraft, and the lack of a downlink signal could be indicative of a system failure.

ICON launched on Oct. 10, 2019, and completed its two-year prime mission science objectives in December 2021. It has been operating in extended mission status since that time.

By Denise Hill
NASA Headquarters, Washington

https://blogs.nasa.gov/icon/2022/12/07/icon-mission-out-of-contact/

[Rondaz]

On Nov. 25, the ICON mission team lost contact with the spacecraft. The team has verified that the spacecraft is intact, but they cannot communicate with it. The team is working to re-establish communication:

https://twitter.com/NASASun/status/1600612681379094545

[Jrcraft]

NASA has updated this mission as a "Past mission" on their website. Given that it's been almost a year without contact, I think it's done.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/icon/

[StraumliBlight]

ICON Satellite Failure Investigation by Abhishek Tripathi. [Mar 28]

Analysis showed an apparent (unexpected) change of attitude around the time of loss of contact

Possible causes of failure

What could have put us in this state:
 • Failure of one of a few cards within the spacecraft’s master avionics unit (~15K orbits/thermal & Rad cycles)
 • Some power bus fault
 • Indeterminant low probability design or part failure OR MMOD strike to MAU or Power bus parts