L-1011 aircraft carrying a Pegasus XL (SORCE)

The L-1011 aircraft carrying a Pegasus XL rocket with NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) attached takes off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The L-1011 will release the rocket over the Atlantic Ocean at 39,000 feet. After separation from the rocket, initial contact with the satellite will be made and the mission team will insure that the spacecraft is functioning properly. The SORCE science instruments will then be turned on and their health verified. Approximately 21 days after launch, if all is going well, the instruments will start initial science data collection and calibration will begin. The spacecraft will study the Sun's influence on our Earth and will measure from space how the Sun affects the Earth's ozone layer, atmospheric circulation, clouds, and oceans. This mission is a joint partnership between NASA and the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder, Colorado.