Pegasus XL CYGNSS Fairing Inspection

The payload fairing for an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket is inspected in Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fairing will protect NASA's Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) spacecraft during launch. The rocket and spacecraft are being prepared at Vandenberg, then will be attached to the Orbital ATK L-1011 carrier aircraft and transported to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. CYGNSS will launch on the Pegasus XL rocket from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. CYGNSS will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical storms and hurricanes. The data that CYGNSS provides will enable scientists to probe key air-sea interaction processes that take place near the core of storms, which are rapidly changing and play a critical role in the beginning and intensification of hurricanes.