Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 1 | 0 |
| 2008 | 2 | 0 |
| 2012 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| 2026 | 1 | 1 |
| 2027 | 0 | 1 |
| 2028 | 0 | 1 |
| 2029 | 0 | 1 |
| 2030 | 0 | 1 |
| 2031 | 0 | 1 |
| 2032 | 0 | 1 |
| 2033 | 0 | 1 |
| 2034 | 0 | 1 |
| 2035 | 0 | 1 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pegasus H | LEO | 443 kg | Unknown | Unknown | Manual Pegasus H fallback from Pegasus XL class capacity. |
Pegasus XL | LEO | 443 kg | Unknown | Unknown | Manual Pegasus XL public-performance fallback. |
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| LINK Mission | Pegasus XL | Jul 3, 2026 |
| Odyssey Mission | Pegasus XL | Jun 13, 2021 |
| ICON Mission | Pegasus XL | Oct 11, 2019 |
| CYGNSS |
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Pegasus | Not stated | 6 | Retired |
Pegasus H | Not stated | 4 | Retired |
Pegasus XL | Not stated | 36 | Active |
| 2036 | 0 | 1 |
| 2037 | 0 | 1 |
| 2038 | 0 | 1 |
| 2039 | 0 | 1 |
| 2040 | 0 | 1 |
| 2041 | 0 | 1 |
1 launch location represented.
| Year | Location | Launches | Confidence | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2027 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2028 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2029 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2030 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2031 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2032 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2033 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2034 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2035 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2036 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2037 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2038 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2039 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2040 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. |
| 2041 | Air launch | Stargazer carrier aircraft | 1 | 20% | Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback. Site-year coverage backfill copied nearest prior site-rate row. |
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Pegasus XL |
| Dec 15, 2016 |
| IRIS Mission | Pegasus XL | Jun 28, 2013 |
| NuSTAR Mission | Pegasus XL | Jun 13, 2012 |
| IBEX/Star 27 | Pegasus XL | Oct 19, 2008 |
| C/NOFS Mission | Pegasus XL | Apr 16, 2008 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Editable low-confidence Pegasus annual throughput fallback.
Northrop Grumman successfully launched the Tactically Responsive Launch-2 (TacRL-2) payload into orbit for the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center using the company’s Pegasus XL rocket.
A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket launched the U.S. Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Launch-2 (TacRL-2) mission on 2021-06-13 at 1:11 a.m. Pacific from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
Kwajalein Atoll hosted several flights of the air-launched Pegasus rocket, most recently in 2012.
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems modified electronics in the Pegasus rocket and made a feedback circuit more robust to environmental flight conditions after detecting rudder position indicator noise spikes at altitude, and tested those fixes on several captive carry flights.
The Pegasus XL rocket was released from an L-1011 carrier aircraft at 9:59 p.m. Eastern off the Florida coast on 2019-10-10 and ignited its motors to ascend to orbit.
After Northrop Grumman’s L-1011 aircraft took off for a 2018-11-07 launch attempt, engineers detected off-nominal data from the Pegasus rocket and scrubbed the launch.
Mission officials had baselined use of the Pegasus XL rocket to launch IXPE from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.
Stratolaunch has an agreement to use the Pegasus rocket for launches from the giant aircraft it is developing at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
Engineers detected off-nominal data from the Pegasus rocket after the L-1011 aircraft took off for the 2018-11-07 ICON launch attempt, and the launch was scrubbed.
NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission was scheduled to launch in late 2017 on a Pegasus XL rocket from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.
The ICON launch was delayed to June 2018 because of an issue with the Pegasus rocket’s separation system.
In October 2016 Stratolaunch partnered with Orbital ATK to use the existing Pegasus XL rocket on its aircraft.
Stratolaunch plans to use the Pegasus XL rocket from Northrop Grumman for some missions.
Stratolaunch reached an agreement with Orbital ATK in 2016 to use the Pegasus rocket on its carrier aircraft with the ability to launch as many as three Pegasus rockets on a single flight.
The Pegasus XL rocket provided by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems will be the small-end option of Stratolaunch’s vehicle family, with launches beginning in 2020.