ST5 launch today

The L-1011 plane that will launch the Space Technology 5 trio of microsatellites is taxiing down the runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, preparing for an 8:04 a.m. takeoff. It is scheduled to drop the Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket less than an hour later, at 9:02 a.m. EST. The microsats are designed to demonstrate tiny technology and could lead to more satellite constellations that will study the Earth's magnetic field and the effects of solar storms.