A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, attached to its L-1011 aircraft, prior to the launch of the ICON satellite Oct. 10. Credit: Northrop Grumman

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A long-delayed NASA space science satellite finally reached orbit Oct. 10 on a Pegasus rocket, a launch vehicle with an uncertain future.

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Jeff Foust writes about space policy, commercial space, and related topics for SpaceNews. He earned a Ph.D. in planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree with honors in geophysics and planetary science...