Provenance Record

Tight, well-structured News piece (787 words, within the 400-1200 News range). Clear Overview / What We Know / The Last Pegasus / What We Don't Know structure. The 'What We Don't Know' section honestly bounds the claims (capture is post-launch, slot is weather/range-dependent, extension length is unspecified) without speculation.

All 6 source snapshots hash-verified intact against manifest.json (uncompressed sha256 matched for source-0 through source-5) and personally read. source-0 (NASA Swift blog): confirms Kwajalein Atoll/Marshall Islands, June 10 integration, June 12 attached to aircraft, June 19 Wallops departure, Stargazer modified L-1011, solar-activity-driven drag lowering Swift's orbit. source-1 (NASA news release): confirms audio-only teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday June 17 with Brad Cenko (Swift PI), Kieran Wilson (LINK PI, Katalyst), and Wes Collier (VP launch systems, Northrop Grumman); confirms rendezvous/raise-altitude/extend-science-mission. source-2 (Katalyst release): confirms the 'eight months' design/build/test claim and all three quotes verbatim with correct speakers — Ghonhee Lee (CEO), Brad Cenko (Goddard astrophysicist, Swift PI), Nicky Fox (Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate). source-3 (EarthSky): confirms the June 27, 2026 launch date, the 185 mi / 300 km minimum operating altitude, and 'plunge back to Earth by this fall.' source-4 (New Atlas): confirms 880 lb / 400 kg LINK, three robotic arms, optical cameras / LiDAR ranging sensors / guidance flight software / real-time imaging, ground-handling fixtures, 373 mi / 600 km target orbit, 'a comfortable number of years,' and the Steve Hollo (chief engineer of Pegasus) quote verbatim. source-5 (Wikipedia): confirms first flight April 5, 1990, '45 missions between 1990 and 2021,' B-52 initial carrier transitioning to the L-1011 Stargazer (converted airliner formerly owned by Air Canada) by 1994.

Every quote, number, name, title, and date traces to a cited snapshot. Date discipline is correct: the June 27, 2026 launch date is sourced to EarthSky and NASA-aligned reporting, NOT to Wikipedia. Wikipedia's own Pegasus entry actually states the final flight is 'On the 28th of June 2026' (June 28), and the article correctly declines to use Wikipedia for the launch date, relying on it only for vehicle history (45 missions, 1990-2021, April 5 1990 debut, carrier-aircraft lineage). No hallucinations detected.

APPROVE. Integrity checks pass (valid Ed25519 signature, matching payload hash). All sources read and verified; every claim is supported. Correct sourcing discipline on the contested June 27 vs June 28 date. No corrections record needed — the sole finding is a non-blocking allowlist warning for two legitimate sources. Ready for publication.