KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands - The lights of Orbital Sciences' L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft illuminates the night sky as it takes off from the runway at Kwajalein Atoll with the company's Pegasus rocket to launch NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. The plane left Kwajalein one hour before launch. At 9:00:35 a.m. PDT 12:00:35 p.m. EDT), June 13, 2012, the rocket dropped with the NuSTAR payload 117 nautical miles south of Kwajalein. NuSTAR will use a unique set of “eyes” to see the highest energy X-ray light from the cosmos to reveal black holes lurking in our Milky Way galaxy, as well as those hidden in the hearts of faraway galaxies. Kwajalein is located in the Marshall Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean and is part of the Reagan Test Site and used for launches of NASA, commercial and military missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA

KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands – An Orbital Sciences’ Pegasus rocket and NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, are delivered to the U.S. Army's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll secured beneath Orbital’s L-1011 carrier aircraft. The Pegasus, mated to its NuSTAR payload, will be launched from the carrier aircraft 117 nautical miles south of Kwajalein at latitude 6.75 degrees north of the equator. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. Launch and deployment of the telescope is scheduled for June 13. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo courtesy of Orbital Sciences Corp.

KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands - Orbital Science Corp.'s L-1011 aircraft "Stargazer" stands near the runway on Kwajalein Atoll with the company's Pegasus rocket slung underneath in the background near this World War II-era bunker built by the Japanese forces who occupied the island. Photo credit: NASA

KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands - Orbital Sciences' L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft takes off from the runway at Kwajalein Atoll with the company's Pegasus rocket to launch NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, payload strapped to the belly of the plane. The plane left Kwajalein one hour before launch. At 9:00:35 a.m. PDT 12:00:35 p.m. EDT), June 13, 2012, the rocket dropped with the NuSTAR payload 117 nautical miles south of Kwajalein. NuSTAR will use a unique set of “eyes” to see the highest energy X-ray light from the cosmos to reveal black holes lurking in our Milky Way galaxy, as well as those hidden in the hearts of faraway galaxies. Kwajalein is located in the Marshall Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean and is part of the Reagan Test Site and used for launches of NASA, commercial and military missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA

KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands – Orbital Sciences' L-1011 carrier aircraft approaches the runway at the U.S. Army's Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll to deliver Orbital’s Pegasus rocket and NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, for launch. The Pegasus, mated to its NuSTAR payload, will be launched from the carrier aircraft 117 nautical miles south of Kwajalein at latitude 6.75 degrees north of the equator. The high-energy X-ray telescope will conduct a census of black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. Launch and deployment of the telescope is scheduled for June 13. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo courtesy of Orbital Sciences Corp.

KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands - Orbital Science Corp.'s L-1011 aircraft "Stargazer" flies over the runway on Kwajalein Atoll with the company's Pegasus rocket slung underneath. Kwajalein is part of the Marshall Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean. It's also part of the Reagan Test Site and used for launches of NASA, commercial and military missions. Photo credit: NASA

KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands - Orbital Science Corp.'s L-1011 aircraft "Stargazer" stands near the runway on Kwajalein Atoll with the company's Pegasus rocket slung underneath. The Pegasus was used to launch NASA's NuSTAR spacecraft mission on June 13, 2012, from the Pacific island chain. Photo credit: NASA

KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands - In this time-lapse image, the lights of Orbital Sciences' L-1011 "Stargazer" streak across the night sky as the aircraft takes off from the runway at Kwajalein Atoll with the company's Pegasus rocket to launch NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. The plane left Kwajalein one hour before launch. At 9:00:35 a.m. PDT 12:00:35 p.m. EDT), June 13, 2012, the rocket dropped with the NuSTAR payload 117 nautical miles south of Kwajalein. NuSTAR will use a unique set of “eyes” to see the highest energy X-ray light from the cosmos to reveal black holes lurking in our Milky Way galaxy, as well as those hidden in the hearts of faraway galaxies. Kwajalein is located in the Marshall Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean and is part of the Reagan Test Site and used for launches of NASA, commercial and military missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA

KWAJALEIN ATOLL, Marshall Islands - Orbital Sciences' L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft takes off from the runway at Kwajalein Atoll with the company's Pegasus rocket to launch NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. The plane left Kwajalein one hour before launch. At 9:00:35 a.m. PDT 12:00:35 p.m. EDT), June 13, 2012, the rocket dropped with the NuSTAR payload 117 nautical miles south of Kwajalein. NuSTAR will use a unique set of “eyes” to see the highest energy X-ray light from the cosmos to reveal black holes lurking in our Milky Way galaxy, as well as those hidden in the hearts of faraway galaxies. Kwajalein is located in the Marshall Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean and is part of the Reagan Test Site and used for launches of NASA, commercial and military missions. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nustar. Photo credit: NASA