REDONDO BEACH, Calif. --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- July 2, 1996 [EXCERPT] Following a successful launch by a Pegasus XL launch vehicle, the first satellite dedicated to mapping the Earth's ozone layer has been successfully deployed in orbit. The TRW-built Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer Earth Probe (TOMS-EP) is expected to begin transmitting critical environmental data to NASA scientists by the end of July. The lightweight satellite was launched on July 2 at 12:48 a.m. PDT over the Pacific Ocean, approximately 60 miles offshore from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The Pegasus XL vehicle carrying the TOMS-EP payload was released from an L-1011 aircraft at an altitude of approximately 38,000 feet. The three-stage Pegasus rocket successfully fired, sending the satellite into a highly elliptical transfer orbit 214 miles (345 kilometers) at its closest point by 592 miles (955 kilometers) at its farthest point. Over the next three weeks, TOMS-EP's orbit will be circularized into its final 310-mile (500 kilometers) orbit using the satellite's integrated on-board propulsion system.