Tags: NASA, Orbital Sciences, Pegasus, Scientific Satellite
Publication: SantaMariaTimes.com
Publication Date: 06/23/2013

The fully integrated spacecraft and science instrument for NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission is seen in a clean room at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Sunnyvale, Calif. facility. The solar arrays are deployed in the configuration they will assume when in orbit. IRIS is scheduled to launch on June 26, 2013. Image credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin

Pegasus, a winged rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp., will carry NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft into orbit. The rocket is scheduled to launch on Wednesday, June 26 between 7:27 and 7:30 PM from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Dissimilar to usual rockets, Pegasus will be carried upward, underneath a modified L-1011 aircraft that will release it at an altitude of 39,000 feet. After five seconds of free falling, the rocket’s first-stage motor will propel Pegasus and IRIS toward space.

IRIS’ mission is to explore the connection between the sun and Earth. This satellite is the most recent in a string of spacecraft purposed to study assorted aspects of the sun. IRIS will focus on the area just above the sun’s surface. This data will provide scientists with information about the workings of the solar atmosphere and how it affects the Earth.

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