List of Pegasus rocket launches

Pegasus rocket before the launch of Space Technology 5

Launch of a Pegasus rocket after launching from the carrier aircraft

This is the launch list for the US Pegasus launcher . The Pegasus is currently the only launcher to be launched from an aircraft (the last Lockheed L-1011 TriStar still flying ). So far 44 starts have been carried out, 39 of which were a success, three partial successes and two false starts, which corresponds to a reliability of around 89%.

Pegasus versions

List as of December 31, 2019

version	Pegasus	Pegasus HAPS	Pegasus-H	Pegasus-XL	Pegasus-XL HAPS
First flight	April 5th 1990	17th August 1991	April 3, 1995	June 27, 1994	December 23, 1997
Number of flights	4th	2	4th	28	6th
Successful flights	4th	0	4th	24	6th
False starts	0	0	0	2	0
Partial successes	0	2	0	1	0
Last flight	August 3, 1994	May 19, 1994	October 9, 2000	in action	in action

Start list

This is a complete launch list for the Pegasus missile . List as of December 31, 2019

Table of contents: 1990s • 2000s • 2010s
Serial No.	Date / start time ( UTC )	Type	Launch site	plane	payload	Type of payload	Payload (gross 1 )	Orbit 2	Remarks
1990 - 91 - 93 - 94 - 95 - 96 - 97 - 98 - 99
1	April 5, 1990 7:10 PM	Pegasus	EAFB	B-52	SECS , Pegsat	experimental communications satellite , R&D	> 68 kg	LEO	success
2	July 17, 1991 5:33 PM	Pegasus HAPS	EAFB	B-52	Microsat 1/2/3/4/5/6/7	experimental communication satellites	154 kg	LEO	Partial success HAPS did not generate enough thrust, orbit lower than planned
3	February 9, 1993 2:30 p.m.	Pegasus	CCAFS	B-52	SCD 1 , Orbcomm -CDS 1	Earth observation satellite , experimental communications satellite	129 kg	LEO	success
4th	April 25, 1993 1:56 pm	Pegasus	EAFB	B-52	ALEXIS , Orbcomm -CDS 2	Space telescope , experimental communications satellite	129 kg	LEO	success
5	May 19, 1994 5:03 p.m.	Pegasus HAPS	EAFB	B-52	STEP 2	Technology testing satellite	180 kg	LEO	Partial success HAPS did not generate enough thrust, orbit lower than planned.
6th	June 27, 1994 9:15 pm	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	STEP 1	Technology testing satellite	352 kg	LEO	Failure
7th	August 3, 1994 2:38 pm	Pegasus	EAFB	B-52	APEX	Technology testing satellite	260 kg	LEO	success
8th	April 3, 1995 1:48 pm	Pegasus-H	VAFB	L-1011	Orbcomm FM 1 / FM 2 , OrbView 1	Technology testing satellite	158 kg	LEO	success
9	June 22, 1995 7:58 pm	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	STEP 3	Technology testing satellite	268 kg	LEO	Failure
10	March 9, 1996 01:53	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	REX 2	Technology testing satellite	110 kg	LEO	success
11	May 17, 1996 2:44 am	Pegasus-H	VAFB	L-1011	MSTI 3	Earth observation satellite	211 kg	LEO	success
12	July 2, 1996 7:48 am	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	TOMS EP	Earth observation satellite	295 kg	LEO	success
13	Aug 21, 1996 9:47 am	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	NEARLY	Earth observation satellite	191 kg	LEO	success
14th	November 4, 1996 5:08 pm	Pegasus-XL	Wa	L-1011	SAC-B , HETE 1	Earth observation satellite , X-ray satellite	309 kg	SSO ?	Partial success Satellites are placed in low orbit due to malfunction in the 3rd stage
15th	April 21, 1997 11:59 am	Pegasus-XL	GCLP	L-1011	Minisat 01 , Celestis 01	Technology testing satellite, converted Orion-38 rocket stage for space burial	> 200 kg	LEO	success
16	August 1, 1997 8:20 pm	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	OrbView 2	commercial earth observation satellite	309 kg	LEO	success
17th	August 29, 1997 3:02 PM	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	FORTE	Technology testing satellite	215 kg	LEO	success
18th	October 22, 1997 1:13 pm	Pegasus-XL	Wa	L-1011	STEP 4	Technology testing satellite	403 kg	LEO	success
19th	December 23, 1997 7:11 PM	Pegasus-XL HAPS	Wa	L-1011	Orbcomm FM 5-12	8 communication satellites	360 kg	LEO	success
20th	February 26, 1998 7:07 am	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	SNOE , BATSAT	Earth observation satellite , experimental communications satellite	235 kg	LEO	success
21st	April 2, 1998 2:42 am	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	TRACE	Space telescope	213 kg	LEO	success
22nd	August 2, 1998 4:24 pm	Pegasus-XL HAPS	Wa	L-1011	Orbcomm FM 13-20	8 communication satellites	360 kg	LEO	success
23	September 23, 1998 5:06 am	Pegasus-XL HAPS	Wa	L-1011	Orbcomm FM 21-28	8 communication satellites	360 kg	LEO	success
24	October 23, 1998 12:02 am	Pegasus-H	CCAFS	L-1011	SCD 2	Earth observation satellite	110 kg	LEO	success
25th	December 6, 1998 12:57 am	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	SWAS	Space telescope	288 kg	LEO	success
26th	March 5, 1999 2:56 am	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	WIRE	Space telescope	254 kg	LEO	success
27	May 18, 1999 5:09 am	Pegasus-XL HAPS	VAFB	L-1011	TERRIERS , MUBLCOM	Earth observation satellite , military communications satellite	> 125 kg	LEO	success
28	December 4, 1999 6:53 pm	Pegasus-XL HAPS	Wa	L-1011	Orbcomm FM 30-36	7 communications satellites	315 kg	LEO	success
2000 - 02 - 03 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08
29	June 7, 2000 1:19 pm	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	TSX-5	Technology testing satellite	250 kg	LEO	success
30th	October 9, 2000 5:38 am	Pegasus-H	Kwajalein	L-1011	HETE 2	X-ray satellite	124 kg	LEO	success
31	February 5, 2002 8:58 pm	Pegasus-XL	CCAFS	L-1011	HESSI	X-ray satellite	304 kg	SSO ?	success
32	Jan 25, 2003 8:13 PM	Pegasus-XL	CCAFS	L-1011	SORCE	Earth observation satellite	315 kg	LEO	success
33	April 28, 2003 12:00	Pegasus-XL	CCAFS	L-1011	GALEX	Space telescope	312 kg	LEO	success
34	June 26, 2003 6:55 pm	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	Orbview 3	Commercial Earth Observation Satellite	304 kg	SSO	success
35	August 13, 2003 2:09 am	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	SciSat 1	Earth observation satellite	150 kg	LEO	success
36	April 15, 2005 5:26 pm	Pegasus-XL HAPS	VAFB	L-1011	DART	Technology testing satellite	360 kg	LEO	success
37	March 22, 2006 2:03 p.m.	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	ST 5 a / b / c	3 technology testing satellites	3 × 25 kg	LEO	success
38	April 25, 2007 8:26:03 PM	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	AIM	Earth observation satellite	195 kg	SSO	success
39	April 16, 2008 5:02 p.m.	Pegasus-XL	Kwajalein	L-1011	C / NOFS	Technology testing satellite	395 kg	LEO	success
40	October 19, 2008 5:47 pm	Pegasus-XL	Kwajalein	L-1011	IBEX	Research satellite	107 kg (+ 368 kg Star-27)	HEO	Success ; with additional Star-27H upper level
2012 - 13 - 16 - 19
41	June 13, 2012 16:00	Pegasus-XL	Kwajalein	L-1011	NuSTAR	X-ray telescope	360 kg	LEO	success
42	June 28, 2013 2:27 am	Pegasus-XL	VAFB	L-1011	IRIS	Research satellite	183 kg	LEO	success
43	December 15, 2016 1:37 PM	Pegasus-XL	CCAFS	L-1011	CYGNSS	eight earth observation satellites	346 kg	LEO	success
44	October 11, 2019 2:00 am	Pegasus-XL	CCAFS	L-1011	ICON	Research satellite	272 kg	LEO	success

¹ Gross weight = (satellites + adapter, housing etc.)

² NOT necessarily the target orbit of the payload - but the path on which the payload from the upper level is to be deployed.

Planned launches

No starts are planned as of October 2019; Northrop Grumman is searching for payloads for two pre-manufactured Pegasus XL rockets.

List of HXLV launches

In a broader sense, three starts of the HXLV variant can also be counted among the Pegasus starts. Only the first stage of the Pegasus, the Orion 50S , was used here. The unmanned test aircraft Boeing X-43 was mounted on it as a payload , which, after being separated from the first stage, used its own drive.

Date / start time ( UTC )	Type	Launch site	plane	payload	Type of payload	Payload in kg (gross¹)	Orbit²	Remarks
June 2, 2001 8:43 PM	HXLV	EAFB	B-52	X-43A 1	Experimental airplane	1270 kg	Suborbital	Failure after t + 51 sec destroyed after the missile strayed off course (t-5 sec)
March 27, 2004 9:59 pm	HXLV	EAFB	B-52	X-43A 2	Experimental airplane	1270 kg	Suborbital	success
November 16, 2004 10:35 PM	HXLV	EAFB	B-52	X-43A 3	Experimental airplane	1270 kg	Suborbital	Success Last flight of the B52 carrier aircraft

Web links

• Pegasus Mission History (PDF, English)
• Gunter's Space Page: Pegasus (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rockets purchased by Stratolaunch back under Northrop Grumman control . Spaceflight Now, October 10, 2019.
2. ^ J. Terry White: Fastest Airbreathing Aircraft. November 17, 2014, accessed October 30, 2015 . 

This version was added to the selection of informative lists and portals on August 7, 2007 .