CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE : Winged Rocket Set for Launch

A unique winged rocket made of advanced, lightweight materials has been readied for a maiden launch from a B-52 jet in a commercial venture to develop low-cost access to space. The Pegasus rocket, a joint venture of Orbital Sciences Corp. of Fairfax, Va., and Hercules Aerospace Co. of Wilmington, Del., will be dropped from the wing of a NASA B-52 over the Pacific Ocean, southwest of Monterey. The solid-fuel rocket is equipped with a 22-foot-wide, 600-pound delta wing made of composite materials. Its first-stage engine is set to ignite about five seconds after release from the jet at 40,000 feet. The rocket is capable of putting satellites weighing up to 900 pounds into low Earth orbit.