An Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL booster originating from Cape Canaveral, Florida, was launched from its Lockheed L-1011 mother ship over the Atlantic on 22 October, carrying Brazil's SCD-2 commercial satellite into low earth orbit.
The XL was also equipped with a NASA aerodynamics experiment, the Wing Glove, which was attached to the booster's right wing leading edge as part of the US space agency's hypersonic experiment programme.
The purpose of the Wing Glove is to measure the aerodynamic boundary layer transition from laminar to turbulent flow at hypersonic speeds, which reach Mach 8 during the first stage flight of the Pegasus rocket.
The experiment was completed about 90s after the launch at an altitude of about 68km.
Source: Flight International
