Officials confirmed the $85 million U.S. Air Force-managed mission safely arrived in its proper egg-shaped orbit over the planet after a flawless launch.

Controllers began checking out the Tri-Service Expriments-5 (TSX-5) payload about 40 minutes after separating from Pegasus, when the package flew over a ground station and contact was established.

"Getting into orbit is exhilerating," said Capt. Kevin Benedict, TSX-5 mission manager at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

"There are folks who have been working on this mission for more than four years and it's a very happy day for all of us," Benedict said. "Now we want to make sure everthing is operating correctly."

Looking down on the world

The 551-pound (250 kilogram) TSX-5 payload features a suite of missile defense-themed experiments mostly involving researchers from the U.S. Air Force and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.

One of the major goals of the mission is to use a combination camera and telescope to test new ways to identify from space slow-moving airplanes flying over land.

TSX-5 will train its sensors on airplanes flying over Great Britain and send the information to a ground station. The idea is to be able to tell the difference between various types of flying objects - such as cruise missiles or enemy aircraft.

By repeating the experiment during the coming months, researchers can learn how seasonal changes in the ground change the way the space-based optics see the aircraft flying against a different background.

Data at the speed of light

As TSX-5 sends its data to Earth, it also will be testing a new communications technology using a laser that must be very precisely pointed at its ground station.

If the laser works it will significantly increase the amount of information that can be beamed from satellites in space. If this particular test works, the laser system will be able to transmit the equivalent of 85 CD-ROM's every minute.

Supporting these two experiments are others designed to test new ways to keep the spacecraft steady as its camera takes pictures - acting like an orbiting tripod - as well as protect and monitor the spacecraft's electronics from radiation and orbital debris hazards.

Good news for Orbital Sciences

Wednesday's launch marks the 15th successful Pegasus mission in a row during the past three years and the 29th launch overall during the Pegasus program's ten-year history.

"The successful launch of the Air Force's TSX-5 satellite represents a verypromising beginning for what we hope will be a highly successful mission for oneof our most valued customers," said David Thompson, Orbital Science's chairman and chief executive officer.

The apparently flawless performance of the booster gives Orbital Sciences a reason to celebrate following a less-than-ideal annual shareholders meeting held June 1 at the company's Dulles, Va., headquarters.

Company officials reported a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss of $26.5 million, compared with $26.2 million for the same period a year ago and answered questions about the company's depressed stock.

Peaking at $45 a share in Jaunary 1999, the Orbital Sciences stock closed Tuesday at $14.31.

Officials said that a major reason for the dismal financial situation was the need to restate almost two year's worth of financial results because of changes in how soon the company recognizes revenue from its contracts.

Upcoming launches

Looking ahead, the next launch from Vandenberg is targeted for Friday when an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile is to be test fired between 4:01 and 10:01 a.m. EDT (0801 and 1401 GMT).

The test is part of a routine program in which missiles with dummy warheads are sent on a 4,200-mile (6,720 kilometer) suborbital arc toward a target at the Kwajalein Missile Range in the South Pacific.

Meanwhile, the next space launch mission into Earth orbit is now targeted to begin on June 22 when a Russian Proton rocket is to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. Exactly what the rocket will be carrying is not clear yet.

As was the case early Tuesday morning of this week, NASA's space station managers will be watching this launch very closely. The reason: a Proton rocket is scheduled to launch the Zvezda service module to the International Space Station on July 12.

A major technical problem during this next Proton launch, or during a Proton flight targeted for launch from Kazakstan on June 29, could disrupt the increasingly fragile space station assembly plan.