Date: Jun 01, 2013 Source: (
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Quallion, a developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion storage systems, assisted in the launch of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Pegasus® rocket, which carried NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Array Telescope (NuSTAR) satellite.
The company supplied Orbital Sciences with customdesigned, rechargeable, 28V battery packs, three of which are utilized on the Pegasus® rocket to power launch vehicle avionics during flight.
NASA will use the NuStar to detect black holes and other energetic phenomena in the universe, with the purpose of expanding knowledge of the origins and lifecycles of stars and galaxies. The Pegasus/NuSTAR mission originated from the U.S. Army's Reagan Test Site, Kwajalein Atoll. Following a onehour pre-planned positioning flight, the Pegasus rocket was released from Orbital's L-1011 carrier aircraft. After a 13- minute powered flight sequence, Pegasus launched the 770-lb. NuSTAR satellite into its targeted circular orbit approximately 400 miles above the Earth.
The launch is the 27th consecutive successful mission for the Pegasus program over a 15-year period, and the first time Orbital Sciences has ever used a lithium-ion battery on its space launch systems. The event marks Quallion's first launch on a Pegasus® rocket.
