Pegasus XL CYGNSS Departure from VAFB

The Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer, with a Pegasus XL rocket mated to the underside of the aircraft, has just taken off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. On board Pegasus XL are eight NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, or CYGNSS, spacecraft. The CYGNSS/Pegasus XL combination is being flown to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On Dec. 12, 2016, the carrier aircraft is scheduled to take off from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and CYGNSS will launch on the Pegasus XL rocket with the L-1011 flying off shore. CYGNSS satellites 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 help scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a crucial role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.