Pegasus XL CYGNSS Second Launch Attempt

A pathfinder aircraft, at left, prepares for takeoff from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The airplane will provide photographic and video imagery of the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, in view at right, carrying a Pegasus XL Rocket with eight NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, spacecraft. With the aircraft flying off shore, the Pegasus rocket will be released. Five seconds later, the solid propellant engine will ignite and boost the eight hurricane observatories to orbit. The eight CYGNSS satellites will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes.