Author Topic: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral - October 10/11, 2019  (Read 126465 times)

Offline ZachS09

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #140 on: 11/16/2018 01:10 am »
Will ICON ever be launched? I feel like it’s been delayed for eternity.
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Offline lrk

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #141 on: 11/16/2018 03:38 am »
Will ICON ever be launched? I feel like it’s been delayed for eternity.

The launch campaign that never ends...

In all seriousness, I wonder at what point NASA decides they've had enough and switches launchers.  This is also the last scheduled mission for Pegasus, right?  Doesn't bode well for it getting any future missions. 

Offline edkyle99

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #142 on: 11/16/2018 03:49 am »
Will ICON ever be launched? I feel like it’s been delayed for eternity.
I've seen longer launch campaigns.  They always launched, eventually.

As for Pegasus, there was an AvWeek article mid-summer that noted that Orbital (now Northrop Grumman) had bought another L1011 for spare parts and was in the process of upgrading or updating some Pegasus systems to cut costs.  Perhaps some of these delays are related to teething problems with some of those updates.  It seems to me that the company would not be making these moves unless it had plans for a Pegasus future.

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 11/16/2018 04:16 am by edkyle99 »

Offline Lars-J

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #143 on: 11/16/2018 05:23 am »
Will ICON ever be launched? I feel like it’s been delayed for eternity.
I've seen longer launch campaigns.  They always launched, eventually.

As for Pegasus, there was an AvWeek article mid-summer that noted that Orbital (now Northrop Grumman) had bought another L1011 for spare parts and was in the process of upgrading or updating some Pegasus systems to cut costs.  Perhaps some of these delays are related to teething problems with some of those updates.  It seems to me that the company would not be making these moves unless it had plans for a Pegasus future.

 - Ed Kyle

But after this launch - could there be much market left for it? With RocketLab in operation and soon Virgin Galactic, the future prospects would appear grim, despite its history with NASA. And it has only flown 5(?) times in the last 10 years. Not a great flight rate for any system.

So I'm wondering is NG is holding on to it (and Antares) just to have a toe in the game and keep launch experience in-house to as a bridge until OmegA arrives.

Offline JonathanD

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #144 on: 11/16/2018 07:19 am »
But after this launch - could there be much market left for it? With RocketLab in operation and soon Virgin Galactic, the future prospects would appear grim, despite its history with NASA. And it has only flown 5(?) times in the last 10 years. Not a great flight rate for any system.

So I'm wondering is NG is holding on to it (and Antares) just to have a toe in the game and keep launch experience in-house to as a bridge until OmegA arrives.

Rocket aside, how much does it cost just to keep that old TriStar flying?  How do they even get parts?

Offline Lar

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #145 on: 11/16/2018 02:12 pm »
Rocket aside, how much does it cost just to keep that old TriStar flying?  How do they even get parts?
See above, they bought another one for spares. Also, boneyards. There are vast fleets of various aircraft types in various states of disassembly (some ready to fly again after removing covers, some half scrapped, and everything in between) in Arizona.
« Last Edit: 11/16/2018 02:12 pm by Lar »
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Offline Rondaz

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #146 on: 11/16/2018 05:22 pm »
ICON to Return to Vandenberg AFB for Further Analysis

Bob Granath Posted on November 16, 2018

NASA and Northrop Grumman have made the decision to fly the L-1011 Stargazer and Pegasus XL rocket carrying NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, spacecraft back to its integration facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The ferry flight will take place early next week. Returning to the environmentally-controlled integration facility allows the team to further investigate off-nominal data observed during the Nov. 8 launch attempt.

Once the investigation is complete, a new launch date will be determined. ICON will launch out of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The ICON spacecraft, which uses Northrop Grumman’s LEOStar-2 platform, is monitored at all times and remains healthy.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/icon/2018/11/16/icon-to-return-to-vandenberg-afb-for-further-analysis/

Offline edkyle99

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #147 on: 11/17/2018 02:59 am »
Will ICON ever be launched? I feel like it’s been delayed for eternity.
I've seen longer launch campaigns.  They always launched, eventually.

As for Pegasus, there was an AvWeek article mid-summer that noted that Orbital (now Northrop Grumman) had bought another L1011 for spare parts and was in the process of upgrading or updating some Pegasus systems to cut costs.  Perhaps some of these delays are related to teething problems with some of those updates.  It seems to me that the company would not be making these moves unless it had plans for a Pegasus future.

 - Ed Kyle

But after this launch - could there be much market left for it? With RocketLab in operation and soon Virgin Galactic, the future prospects would appear grim, despite its history with NASA. And it has only flown 5(?) times in the last 10 years. Not a great flight rate for any system.

So I'm wondering is NG is holding on to it (and Antares) just to have a toe in the game and keep launch experience in-house to as a bridge until OmegA arrives.
Electron can only lift half of a Pegasus payload on paper (so far it has only lifted about 15% as much as Pegasus in reality).  LauncherOne matches Pegasus on paper, but it is going to be a challenge to air launch with its cryogenic liquid propellants.  Meanwhile, Pegasus shares much with the Minotaur series, and with OBV.  Altogether, they account for probably 25-30 or so launches during the past decade.     

 - Ed Kyle
« Last Edit: 11/17/2018 03:01 am by edkyle99 »

Offline MattBaker

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #148 on: 11/17/2018 11:07 am »
Plus Electron only really works for polar orbits right now with their launch site, let's see when it comes to lower latitudes. But a mission like ICON, 27° inclination wouldn't be possible even from Wallops without sacrificing the already not-enough power for a plane change?

Pegasus, especially when it can go from Kwajalein without scheduling issues, can offer a pretty wide range of inclinations.

Offline Rondaz

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #149 on: 11/28/2018 08:26 pm »
NASA’s ICON Analysis Underway at Vandenberg AFB

Bob Granath Posted on November 28, 2018

On Monday, Nov. 19, Northrop Grumman flew the L-1011 Stargazer and Pegasus XL rocket carrying NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, spacecraft back to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. On Nov. 20, Northrop Grumman completed the de-mate of Pegasus from the L-1011 and transported the rocket safely into the integration facility.

The Northrop Grumman/NASA team continues its investigation into the off-nominal data observed during the Nov. 7 launch attempt. Once the analysis is complete, a new launch date will be determined. ICON will launch out of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The ICON spacecraft, which uses Northrop Grumman’s LEOStar-2 platform, is monitored at all times and remains healthy.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/icon/2018/11/28/nasas-icon-analysis-underway-at-vandenberg-afb/

Offline gongora

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Re: SCRUB: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET ?, 2018
« Reply #150 on: 12/18/2018 02:19 pm »
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1075041994936864768
Quote
Nicola Fox, heliophysics division director, says ICON launch on a Pegasus XL now scheduled for early 2019.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET Q2 2019
« Reply #151 on: 02/25/2019 01:38 pm »
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1100041368695685120

Quote
At a National Academies committee meeting this morning, Nicky Fox, head of NASA’s heliophysics division, says the ICON launch now planned for no earlier the 2nd quarter. Northrop Grumman still working “extremely hard” on problems with the Pegasus launch vehicle.
« Last Edit: 02/25/2019 01:39 pm by FutureSpaceTourist »

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET Q2 2019
« Reply #152 on: 03/26/2019 02:51 pm »
https://twitter.com/stephenclark1/status/1110556273039327235

Quote
Nicky Fox, head of NASA’s heliophysics division, tells National Academy of Sciences committee that Northrop Grumman plans test flight of the Pegasus XL under its L-1011 carrier jet in a few weeks. If it goes well, launch campaign for long-delayed ICON satellite could soon follow.

Offline gongora

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Re: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET Q2 2019
« Reply #153 on: 04/30/2019 05:24 pm »
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1123275932725317634
Quote
NASA’s Bill Gerstenmaier speaking now at the ASEB/SSB meeting, with a broad overview of HEOMD programs. Notes problem with Pegasus XL that delayed ICON launch for months appears to have been solved; should be ready to launch this summer.

Offline zubenelgenubi

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Re: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET September 2019
« Reply #154 on: 06/26/2019 10:49 pm »
Cross-post; SFN Launch Schedule, updated June 23
NET September per Stephen Clark
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Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Re: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET September 2019
« Reply #155 on: 07/09/2019 04:27 am »
Well, now that IXPE is flying on Falcon 9, is this going to be the last flight of Pegasus XL?
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Offline ZachS09

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Re: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET September 2019
« Reply #156 on: 07/09/2019 11:15 am »
Well, now that IXPE is flying on Falcon 9, is this going to be the last flight of Pegasus XL?

I think so. It appears that SpaceX launching IXPE and the countless delays of ICON could lead to Northrop Grumman announcing, “ICON will be Pegasus’ last mission”, followed by an explanation of Pegasus’ success rate and payload examples that accomplished great scientific results.

Making an excuse that SpaceX is stealing their payloads would NOT be the appropriate way to explain Pegasus’ retirement.
« Last Edit: 02/20/2022 02:35 am by ZachS09 »
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Offline russianhalo117

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Re: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET September 2019
« Reply #157 on: 07/09/2019 02:52 pm »
Well, now that IXPE is flying on Falcon 9, is this going to be the last flight of Pegasus XL?
There Pegasus XL in storage and early buildup at VAFB facilities.

Offline The Phantom

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Re: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET September 2019
« Reply #158 on: 07/13/2019 03:20 pm »
Well, now that IXPE is flying on Falcon 9, is this going to be the last flight of Pegasus XL?
There Pegasus XL in storage and early buildup at VAFB facilities.

There are two Pegasus XL's at 1555, both ex-Stratolaunch vehicles. But there is no customer as yet for either of them.
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Offline russianhalo117

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Re: Pegasus-XL - ICON - Cape Canaveral- NET September 2019
« Reply #159 on: 07/13/2019 07:46 pm »
Right now, there's no launch vehicle assigned to launch SPHEREx, which weighs 178 kilograms. Maybe one of the Pegasus rockets could launch SPHEREx since it's within the payload capability to SSO.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/explorer_spherex.htm

Also, we have PUNCH and TRACERS that are presumably within Pegasus' SSO capability, so that could be another candidate for Pegasus.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/explorer_punch.htm
https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/explorer_tracers.htm
Both are baselined. However we are derailing this mission thred nd should use the other Pegasus thread to discuss further.

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