Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman was set to launch NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer satellite early Wednesday aboard it's air-launched Pegasus XL rocket, but will have to wait another day to do so.
The space agency said the launch was scrubbed due to "off-nominal data" observed on the rocket during its captive carry flight. The next launch opportunity will be Thursday.
"The team will investigate the issue and evaluate the next launch attempt," NASA said.
Pegasus will be carried by and launch from Northrop Grumman's Stargazer L-1011 airplane from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The launch carries the ICON satellite -- the 44th launch for Pegasus. NASA had said Tuesday the weather forecast allowed for a 90 percent chance for favorable launch conditions.
When deployed, ICON will study the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather meets space phenomena. The satellite will monitor physics of near-Earth space and provide data for stopping its negative effects on technology and communications systems.
ICON is based on the previous LEOStar-2 spacecraft, one of several small satellites Northrop Grumman has launched for NASA in the last two decades.
NASA's Launch Services Program, which matches spacecraft with launch vehicles, is helping supervise the launch. Previous Pegasus missions have launched from five separate sites in the U.S., Europe and the Marshall Islands.
The Stargazer L-1011 is based on the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar commercial airliner, which has been in use since 1974, and was modified in 1994 for air-launched rocket satellite capability.
