Subject: WIRE launch profile

The following information is intended to be useful, but is not guaranteed.

See  Orbital's Pegasus Launch Vehicle  for general Pegasus information.

Drop zone: a narrowish box 40 miles long centered on the ideal drop point 
           at 123.0 deg W, 36.0 deg N.  Its long axis is aligned with 
           the launch azimuth.

Launch azimuth: 187.8 deg  (that's 7.8 deg west of south)

Drop altitude: ~38,000 ft

Drop time: 6:57 pm PST  (almost unchanged day to day)

Flight profile:  The rocket falls a few hundred feet after drop (300-500) 
                 (5 seconds freefall) before igniting the first stage.
                 Orbit injection occurs 9m 14s after drop at 127.2 deg W, 
                 14.4 deg N at 540 km altitude with a heading of 187.8 deg 
                 (97.55 deg orbital inclination).  The flight path must be 
                 nearly along the drop azimuth but the rocket does some turns 
                 for energy scrubbing.