The Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is released from L-1011 carrier jet off the central Florida coastline at 8:37 a.m. EST (1337 GMT) and ignites to power eight microsats to space for NASA’s CYGNSS hurricane research project.
Carol Raymond helps lead the Dawn science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where she oversees research investigating comets and asteroids, including the two objects visited during Dawn’s decade-long mission: Vesta and Ceres.
Repair crews in Virginia have restored the Antares booster’s launch pad — damaged in an explosive rocket crash nearly one year ago — to flight-ready status as the Orbital ATK launcher moves toward a return-to-flight in 2016.