On June 13, 2021, mounted on the belly of an L-1011 carrier aircraft, the 24-ton “Pegasus XL” rocket departed Vandenberg Space Force Base on California’s Central Coast about an hour before launch. The L-1011 aircraft, named “Stargazer,” flew to the Pegasus drop zone about 250 kilometers off the California coast and lined up on the launch trajectory heading south. The flight crew commanded release of the 17-meter rocket at 08:11 UTC as the L-1011 flew at an altitude of 39,000 feet (11,900 meters). After a five-second free fall, the Pegasus ignited its solid-fueled first stage engine to begin the climb into space. The rocket orbited the US “Odyssey” military space surveillance satellite.