Pegasus

American air-launched solid-fuel small-lift rocket

Pegasus was the air-launched oddity: a winged rocket dropped from under an L-1011 jet at 12 kilometres, which then lit its engine and climbed to orbit on its own. It flew small satellites from 1990 to 2026. The last flight, in July 2026, used the final Pegasus XL Northrop Grumman had. The rocket did its job, but the spacecraft it carried to reboost NASA's Swift telescope lost control in orbit, and the rescue was called off in August.