Successful launch of the Pegasus XL/ICON Satellite

After a two-year delay, the ICON satellite intended to study the Earth's ionosphere was finally launched. The new launch date was set for the last 9th of October but weather restrictions scrubbed the attempt one more day.

Stargazer © Northrop Grumman Corporation

Last night, the L-1011 took off from Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral, heading towards the Atlantic Ocean and started its climb to 39000 ft. The typical launch circuit pattern was followed and every parameter was nominal for the launch. Unfortunately, when approaching the launch box (a virtual shaped area from which the launch must take place), communications with Stargazer were lost and the launch aborted. The aircraft had to fly one more circuit which took about 30 minutes, and communications were re-established using a new frequency. At its second attempt, everything went fine and the Pegasus XL rocketed away, delivering the payload to its intended orbit (a LEO - Low Earth Orbit).

The ICON mission was the 44th flight of the Pegasus rocket proving the success of the Stargazer/Pegasus XL airborne launch platform.

For the moment there are no new Pegasus XL missions scheduled.

Northrop Grumman: Northrop Grumman Successfully Launches NASA ICON Satellite

CS-TMP was finally sunk in the Red Sea, near Aqaba

In April of this year, photos of CS-TMP could be seen with the aircraft laying with its wings clipped, near the waters of the Gulf of Aqaba.

CS-TMP © Fábio Conceição

Information was spread that it was intended to sink the airframe to become an artificial reef and to serve as an attraction to scuba divers. Last 26th of August, CS-TMP was finally sunk with its wings and horizontal stabilizers re-attached.

Several websites covered the sinking of the airplane:

• A Lockheed L-1011 TriStar joins Aqaba’s Underwater Military museum

• Aqaba: The Scuttling of a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar Plane

• The Telegraph - Pictures of the Day: 30 August 2019

• Se sumerge avión comercial en desuso en Museo Militar Subacuático de Aqaba

The updated status of ex-Portuguese TriStar fleet is the following:

MSN 1206 euroAtlantic CS-TMX - scrapped at Lisbon (LIS)

MSN 1240 euroAtlantic CS-TEB - stored at Amman (ADJ)

MSN 1241 Luzair CS-TMR - re-registered N91011; stored at Victorville (VCV)

MSN 1248 Luzair CS-TMP - sunk in the Gulf of Aqaba

Aircraft Fleet: MSN193H-1248

New launch date for ICON mission

Stargazer © NASA/Kim Shiflett

Northrop Grumman announced the following:

Mission Update - September 19, 2019
NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite will launch aboard our Pegasus rocket on October 9 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Pegasus will be carried aloft by the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. To learn more about the ICON mission, visit NASA's blog here.

Northrop Grumman: Pegasus Flight #44 (ICON)

New livery for HZ-AHP

L-1011 193S-1190 (ex-Saudia) in permanent display at Royal Saudi Air Force Museum (Riyadh) was repainted in a new livery to promote the 88th Anniversary of the National Day in Saudi Arabia and also to promote the "Saudi Vision 2030" plan.

HZ-AHP © JetPhotos/AirlinerSpotter

ICON launch set for this Wednesday

News from NASA's Kennedy Space Center:

NASA and Northrop Grumman completed their Launch Readiness Review on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are no technical issues being worked at this time. NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite mission is scheduled to launch Wednesday, Nov. 7, by Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket, which will be carried aloft by the company’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft taking off from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Kennedy Space Center: Launch Readiness Completed for ICON