Posted: Wed, Aug 13, 2003, 2:24 AM ET (0624 GMT)
A Pegasus XL launched a Canadian earth sciences satellite Tuesday evening. The Pegasus XL was deployed from Orbital Science Corporation’s L-1011 aircraft at 8:09 pm EDT Tuesday (0009 GMT Wednesday) off the coast from Vandenberg AFB, California. The booster successfully placed its payload, SCISAT-1, into a 650-kilometer orbit ten and a half minutes later. SCISAT-1, also known as Scientific Satellite Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment, will measure ozone levels in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, particularly at high latitudes. The 150-kilogram satellite is the first entirely Canadian scientific satellite since 1971. The launch was the fourth Pegasus XL mission of the year and the second in as many months.

Related Links:

•  CBC article
•  SPACE.com article
•  Spaceflight Now article
•  NASA/KSC press release
•  CSA press release