Pegasus XL CYGNSS Stage 1 to Stage 2 Mate

Stages 1 and 2 of an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket come together in Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket and its payload, NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) spacecraft, are being prepared at Vandenberg, then will be attached to the Orbital ATK L-1011 carrier aircraft and transported to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. CYGNSS will launch on the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.