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Pegasus
17.6m
Human (1.8m)
1.8m
Pegasus / Credits: Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons)
United StatesRetired1990–2021
Pegasus
Orbital Sciences / Northrop Grumman
The world's first privately developed orbital rocket — launched from beneath a carrier aircraft at 40,000 ft.
Pegasus is a winged, air-launched orbital rocket developed by Orbital Sciences. It is released from a modified Lockheed L-1011 aircraft named Stargazer at ~12 km altitude, then ignites its solid rocket motors to reach orbit. This unique approach allows launches from virtually any location on Earth, unconstrained by fixed launch facilities. Pegasus was the first privately developed rocket to reach orbit.
Fun facts
Launched from a plane at 40,000 ft — no launch pad needed.
First privately developed rocket to successfully reach orbit (1990).
Deployed IBEX, which later detected the heliosphere's boundary.
Height
17.6 m
Diameter
1.27 m
Mass
23.1 t
Stages
3
Thrust
726 kN
Payload LEO
443 kg
Payload GTO
—
Total flights
46
Success rate91.3%
41 success2 partial3 failure
Launch pads
- Air-launched from L-1011 Stargazer aircraft
No upcoming launches scheduled.
