Posted: Wed, Nov 26, 2014, 7:38 AM ET (1238 GMT)
NASA awarded a contract to Orbital Sciences Corporation for a Pegasus XL launch of a space science mission in 2017. The Pegasus will launch the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission on a mission based out of Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific in mid-2017. The NASA contract to Orbital, covering the launch and related services, is valued at $56.3 million. The ICON spacecraft, operating in low Earth orbit, will study the ionosphere and its links to both the lower atmosphere and space weather. Pegasus, an air-launch system for small satellites, has struggled to win business in recent years, although the company did win a contract for another NASA mission, CYGNSS, earlier this year.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  SpaceNews article
•  NASA press release
•  Orbital Sciences press release