Orbital Sciences Corporation operates and maintains a modified L-1011. The aircraft has a maximum mission capability of carrying an external payload (or research platform) weighing up to 52,000 pounds to an altitude of 42,000 feet, at speeds up to Mach .86. It has a nominal flight endurance of 10 hours and a range of 4200 nautical miles. Orbital’s L-1011 has been proven in flight during live launch operations and extensive flight testing. The on board launch panel operator station enables monitoring of the external payload. The station is easily adaptable to support specialized instrumentation for other scientific/research applications. All modifications and testing of the L-1011 were performed to FAA part 25 (transport category) standards. Orbital’s L-1011 is a flexible cost effective airborne platform that can be deployed worldwide to satisfy customer requirements.