Launch Week Arrives for ICON

The Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, carrying NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), has arrived at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Oct. 1, 2019. The rocket is attached beneath the company’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space – the dynamic zone high in Earth’s atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer – or ICON – satellite is scheduled to launch Wednesday, Oct. 9, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. ICON will be air-launched from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, carried by the company’s L-1011 aircraft, Stargazer. Launch is currently scheduled for 9:30 p.m. EDT.

Weather officials from the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing predict a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. Primary concerns are cumulous clouds and lightning. We’ll continue to provide weather and launch updates here on the blog, so be sure to check back in!