Northrop Grumman Pegasus

Pegasus

Pegasus XL
Function	Small-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Northrop Grumman
Country of origin	United States
Cost per launch	US$40 million[1]
Size
Height	16.9 m (55 ft 5 in) XL: 17.6 m (57 ft 9 in)
Diameter	1.27 m (4 ft 2 in)
Mass	18,500 kg (40,800 lb) XL: 23,130 kg (50,990 lb)
Stages	3
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Altitude	200 km (120 mi)
Orbital inclination	28.5°
Mass	450 kg (990 lb)
Associated rockets
Derivative work	Minotaur-C
Comparable	Electron, Vector-H, Falcon 1, LauncherOne
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Air launch to orbit:     Cape Canaveral     Edwards     Gando     Kennedy     Kwajalein     Vandenberg     Wallops
Total launches	45
Success(es)	40
Failure(s)	3
Partial failure(s)	2
First flight	5 April 1990 (Pegsat / NavySat)
Last flight	13 June 2021 (TacRL-2 / Odyssey)
First stage – Orion 50S
Maximum thrust	500 kN (110,000 lbf)
Burn time	75.3 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / Al
First stage (Pegasus XL) – Orion 50SXL
Height	10.27 m (33 ft 8 in)
Diameter	1.28 m (4 ft 2 in)
Empty mass	1,369 kg (3,018 lb)
Gross mass	16,383 kg (36,118 lb)
Propellant mass	15,014 kg (33,100 lb)
Maximum thrust	726 kN (163,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	295 s (2.89 km/s)
Burn time	68.6 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / Al
Second stage – Orion 50
Maximum thrust	114.6 kN (25,800 lbf)
Burn time	75.6 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / Al
Second stage (Pegasus XL) – Orion 50XL
Height	3.07 m (10 ft 1 in)
Diameter	1.28 m (4 ft 2 in)
Empty mass	391 kg (862 lb)
Gross mass	4,306 kg (9,493 lb)
Propellant mass	3,915 kg (8,631 lb)
Maximum thrust	158 kN (36,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	289 s (2.83 km/s)
Burn time	71 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / Al
Third stage – Orion 38
Height	1.34 m (4 ft 5 in)
Diameter	0.97 m (3 ft 2 in)
Empty mass	102.1 kg (225 lb)
Gross mass	872.3 kg (1,923 lb)
Propellant mass	770.2 kg (1,698 lb)
Maximum thrust	32.7 kN (7,400 lbf)
Specific impulse	287 s (2.81 km/s)
Burn time	66.8 seconds
Propellant	HTPB / Al
Fourth stage (optional) – HAPS
Height	0.3 m (1 ft 0 in)
Diameter	0.97 m (3 ft 2 in)
Propellant mass	72 kg (159 lb)
Powered by	3 × MR-107N
Maximum thrust	0.666 kN (150 lbf)
Specific impulse	230.5 s (2.260 km/s)
Burn time	131 + 110 seconds (2 burns)
Propellant	N2H4
[edit on Wikidata]

Part of a series on
Private spaceflight
Active companies
Arianespace Astra Axiom Space Bigelow Aerospace Blue Origin Equatorial Space Systems Firefly Aerospace Galactic Energy i-Space Northrop Grumman Redwire Relativity Space Rocket Lab Scaled Composites SpaceX The Spaceship Company United Launch Alliance Virgin Galactic
Active vehicles
Antares Ceres-1 Cygnus Dragon 2 Electron Falcon 9 Falcon Heavy Hyperbola-1 New Shepard Pegasus SpaceShipTwo Vega
Contracts and programs
Ansari X Prize Commercial Crew Development Commercial Resupply Services Google Lunar X Prize SpaceX Mars transportation infrastructure SpaceX reusable launch system development
Related
Billionaire space race
Spaceflight portal
v t e

Pegasus is an air-launched multistage rocket developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) and later built and launched by Northrop Grumman. Pegasus is the world's first privately developed orbital launch vehicle.^[2][3] Capable of carrying small payloads of up to 443 kg (977 lb) into low Earth orbit, Pegasus first flew in 1990 and remained active as of 2021^[update]. The vehicle consists of three solid propellant stages and an optional monopropellant fourth stage. Pegasus is released from its carrier aircraft at approximately 12,000 m (39,000 ft) using a first stage wing and a tail to provide lift and altitude control while in the atmosphere. The first stage does not have a thrust vector control (TVC) system.^[4]