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Pegasus Air-Launched Space Booster Flight Test ProgramPegasus is a satellite-launching space rocket dropped from a B52 carrier aircraft instead of launching vertically from a ground pad. Its three-year, privately-funded accelerated development was carried out under a demanding design-to-nonrecurring cost methodology, which imposed unique requirements on its flight test program, such as the decision not to drop an inert model from the carrier aircraft; the number and type of captive and free-flight tests; the extent of envelope exploration; and the decision to combine test and operational orbital flights. The authors believe that Pegasus may be the first vehicle where constraints in the number and type of flight tests to be carried out actually influenced the design of the vehicle. During the period November 1989 to February of 1990 a total of three captive flight tests were conducted, starting with a flutter clearing flight and culminating in a complete drop rehearsal. Starting on April 5, 1990, two combination test/operational flights were conducted. A unique aspect of the program was the degree of involvement of flight test personnel in the early design of the vehicle and, conversely, of the design team in flight testing and early flight operations. Various lessons learned as a result of this process are discussed throughout this paper.
Document ID
19960003894
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Elias, Antonio L.
(Orbital Sciences Corp. Dulles, VA., United States)
Knutson, Martin A.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 1995
Publication Information
Publication: AGARD, Space Systems Design and Development Testing
Subject Category
Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
Accession Number
96N13904
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
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