NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Pegasus XL Fairing

In an environmental enclosure at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, twin segments the Pegasus payload fairing that will enclose NASA's NuSTAR spacecraft are cleaned and inspected before the spacecraft is encapsulated. The fairing will protect the spacecraft from the heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent to orbit aboard the Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL rocket.

Image credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB
Feb. 6, 2012