EO·Atlas
Northrop Grumman Pegasus Xl
Compiled from public sources on 2026-06-16. Not independently verified by Northrop Grumman.
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Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL air-launched small-lift rocket, carried by Stargazer L-1011 and used for small payloads to low Earth orbit.
Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL is an air-launched small-lift orbital vehicle carried by the Stargazer L-1011 aircraft and released at altitude before its solid rocket stages ignite.[1][2][3] Northrop Grumman provides the launch service and documents Pegasus XL as a three-stage vehicle for small satellites to LEO.[1][4]
Published performance is up to 1,000 lb, or 450 kg, to low Earth orbit.[2] The vehicle first flew in 1990 and remained active in June 2026, with Pegasus XL attached to Stargazer on 2026-06-12 for Katalyst Space's LINK mission to boost the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.[2][5][6]
By 2021, Pegasus had conducted 45 missions and 31 consecutive fully successful missions; a U.S. Space Force TacRL-2 Pegasus XL mission launched successfully on 2021-06-13.[2][3]
- [1]Pegasus Rocket, Northrop Grummanoperator marketing-2026-06-16
- [2]Pegasus Datasheet, Northrop Grummanoperator datasheet2021-04-022026-06-16
- [3]Pegasus User's Guide, Northrop Grummanoperator engineering2020-09-012026-06-16
- [4]U.S. Space Force successfully launches first tactically responsive launch missionagency doc2021-06-132026-06-16
- [5]Rocket Attached to Aircraft for Katalyst-NASA Swift Boost, NASAagency doc2026-06-152026-06-16
- [6]NASA to Preview Katalyst Mission to Boost Swift Spacecraft's Orbitagency doc2026-06-112026-06-16