List of Minotaur launches
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Minotaur_on_launch_pad_at_Wallops_Island.jpg/220px-Minotaur_on_launch_pad_at_Wallops_Island.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Minotaur-4-Lite_HTV-2a_2.jpg/220px-Minotaur-4-Lite_HTV-2a_2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Minotaur_C_launch_%28crop_zoom%29.jpg/220px-Minotaur_C_launch_%28crop_zoom%29.jpg)
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About the Minotaur 1
The Minotaur 1 launcher is taken from edited Minuteman II ICBMs and is now used to fly microsats for the United States of America’s Government. Its first and second stages, taken right from decommissioned Minuteman missiles, are attached to the Orion third and fourth stages that were taken from the Pegasus XL air-flown launcher family. An optional hydrazine-powered fifth stage called HAPS can also be used.
The Minotaur 1 launcher has flown a total of 3 launches, all successful. [1]
About the Minotaur 4
The Minotaur 4 flight system is taken from that of the Peacekeeper ICBM. The first three stages are taken right from decommissioned Peacekeeper missiles. A fourth stage, the Orion-38, is taken from the Pegasus family of air-flown rockets.
The Minotaur 4 launcher has flown a total of 3 times with 3 successful launches.[2]
About the Minotaur 4 HAPS
The Minotaur 4 HAPS rocket is taken from the Peacekeeper ICBM. The first three stages are taken right from decommissioned Peacekeeper missiles. A fourth stage, the Orion-38, is derived from the Pegasus family of air-flown launchers. A fifth stage, that has a of a hydrazine-powered motor called HAPS, increases its orbit accuracy and allows for more orbital changing.
The Minotaur IV HAPS launcher has been flown only once and that mission was successful.[3]
Launch statistics
Rocket configurations
- Taurus/Minotaur‑C
- Minotaur I
- Minotaur II
- Minotaur II+
- Minotaur IV
- Minotaur IV Lite
- Minotaur IV HAPS
- Minotaur IV+
- Minotaur V
Launch sites
- Vandenberg LF‑06
- Vandenberg SLC‑8
- Vandenberg SLC‑576E
- Kodiak LP‑1
- MARS LP‑0B
- Cape Canaveral SLC‑46
Launch outcomes
- Success
- Failure
- Planned
Launch history
1994 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | March 13, 1994 22:32 |
Taurus/Minotaur-C (ARPA Taurus) | VAFB, SLC-576E | STEP Mission 0 and DARPASAT | USAF/DARPA[4][5] | Success | ||
1998 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
2 | February 10, 1998 13:20 |
Taurus/Minotaur-C (Commercial Taurus configuration) | VAFB SLC-576E | GFO and Orbcomm (satellites 11,12) | Success | |||
3 | October 3, 1998 10:04 |
Taurus/Minotaur-C (Air Force Taurus Configuration) | VAFB SLC-576E | Space Technology Experiment (STEX) | NRO | Success | ||
1999 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
4 | December 21, 1999 07:13 |
Taurus/Minotaur-C (Model 2110) | VAFB SLC-576E | KOMPSAT and ACRIMSAT | Success | |||
2000 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
1 | January 27, 2000 03:03:06 |
Minotaur I | Vandenberg SLC-8 | JAWSat (P98-1) (FalconSat1 / ASUSat1 / OCSE / OPAL) | LEO | Success | ||
5 | March 12, 2000 09:29 |
Taurus/Minotaur-C (Air Force Taurus Configuration) | VAFB SLC-576E | Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) | Success | |||
1 | May 28, 2000 20:00 |
Minotaur II | Vandenberg LF-06 | OSP-TLV Missile Defense Technology Demonstrator | Suborbital | Success | ||
2 | July 19, 2000 20:09:00 |
Minotaur I | Vandenberg SLC-8 | MightySat II.1 (Sindri, P99-1) / MEMS 2A / MEMS 2B | LEO | Success | ||
2001 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
6 | September 21, 2001 18:49 |
Taurus/Minotaur-C (Model 2110) | VAFB SLC-576E | Orbview-4/QuikTOMS | Failure | |||
2 | December 4, 2001 04:59 |
Minotaur II | Vandenberg LF-06 | TLV-1 IFT-7 GMDS target mission | Suborbital | Success | ||
2002 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
3 | March 16, 2002 02:11 |
Minotaur II | Vandenberg LF-06 | TLV-2 IFT-8 GMDS target mission | Suborbital | Success | ||
4 | October 15, 2002 02:01 |
Minotaur II | Vandenberg LF-06 | TLV-3 GMDS target mission | Suborbital | Success | ||
5 | December 11, 2002 08:26 |
Minotaur II | Vandenberg LF-06 | TLV-4 GMDS target mission | Suborbital | Success | ||
2004 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
7 | May 20, 2004 17:47 |
Taurus/Minotaur-C (Model 3210) | VAFB SLC-576E | ROCSAT-2 | Success | |||
2005 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
3 | April 11, 2005 13:35:00 |
Minotaur I | Vandenberg SLC-8 | XSS-11 | LEO | Success | ||
4 | September 22, 2005 19:24:00 |
Minotaur I | Vandenberg SLC-8 | Streak (STP-R1) | LEO | Success | ||
2006 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
5 | April 15, 2006 01:40:00 |
Minotaur I | Vandenberg SLC-8 | COSMIC (FORMOSAT-3) | LEO | Success | ||
6 | December 16, 2006 12:00 |
Minotaur I | MARS LP-0B | TacSat-2 / GeneSat-1 | LEO | Success | ||
2007 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
6 | March 21, 2007 04:27 |
Minotaur II | Vandenberg LF-06 | TLV-5 FTX-02 SBR target mission | Suborbital | Success | ||
7 | April 24, 2007 06:48 |
Minotaur I | MARS LP-0B | NFIRE | LEO | Success | ||
7 | August 23, 2007 08:30 |
Minotaur II+ | Vandenberg LF-06 | TLV-7 Mission 2a sensor target for NFIRE satellite | Suborbital | Success | ||
2008 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
8 | September 24, 2008 06:57 |
Minotaur II+ | Vandenberg LF-06 | TLV-8 Mission 2b sensor target for NFIRE satellite | Suborbital | Success | ||
2009 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
8 | February 24, 2009 09:55 |
Taurus/Minotaur-C (Model 3110) | VAFB SLC-576E | Orbiting Carbon Observatory [6] | Failure | |||
8 | May 19, 2009 23:55 |
Minotaur I | MARS LP-0B | TacSat-3 / PharmaSat / AeroCube 3 / HawkSat I / CP6 | LEO | Success | ||
2010 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
1 | April 22, 2010 23:00 |
Minotaur IV Lite | Vandenberg SLC-8 | HTV-2a hypersonic research spacecraft | Suborbital | Success | ||
2 | September 26, 2010 04:41 |
Minotaur IV | Vandenberg SLC-8 | SBSS | SSO | Success | ||
3 | November 20, 2010 01:25 |
Minotaur IV HAPS | Kodiak LP-1 | STP-S26 (FASTRAC-A / FASTRAC-B / FalconSat-5 / FASTSAT / O/OREOS / RAX) | LEO | Success | ||
2011 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
9 | February 6, 2011 12:26 |
Minotaur I | Vandenberg SLC-8 | NROL-66 | LEO | Success | ||
9 | March 4, 2011 10:09 |
Taurus/Minotaur-C (Model 3110) | VAFB SLC-576E | Glory, KySat-1, Hermes, and Explorer-1 [PRIME] | Failure[7] | |||
10 | June 30, 2011 03:09 |
Minotaur I | MARS LP-0B | ORS-1 | LEO | Success | ||
4 | August 11, 2011 14:45 |
Minotaur IV Lite | Vandenberg Air Force Base | Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2b) | Suborbital | Success | ||
5 | September 27, 2011 15:49 |
Minotaur IV+ | Kodiak LP-1 | TacSat-4 | MEO | Success | ||
2013 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
1 | September 7, 2013 03:27 |
Minotaur V | MARS LP-0B | LADEE | HEO | Success | ||
11 | November 20, 2013 01:15 |
Minotaur I | MARS LP-0B | ORS-3 (STPSat-3 along with 28 additional cubesats) | LEO | Success[8][9] | ||
2017 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
6 | August 26, 2017 06:04 |
Minotaur IV | CCAFS, SLC-46 | ORS-5 | LEO | Success | ||
10 | October 31, 2017 21:37 |
Minotaur-C (Model 3210) | VAFB SLC-576E | SkySat × 6, Flock-3m × 4 | Success | |||
2020 | ||||||||
Flight № | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Payload mass | Orbit | Customer | Launch outcome |
7 | 15 July 2020 13:46 |
Minotaur IV | MARS, LP-0B | NROL-129 (USA 305 to USA 308) [10] | LEO | NRO | Success | |
Planned launches
Date / time (UTC) | Rocket, Configuration |
Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2021 [11] | Minotaur I | MARS, LP-0B | NROL-111 | (Planned) | NRO |
Late 2021 [12] | Minotaur II | Vandenberg, SLC-8 | Suborbital | SMC | |
Late 2021 [12] | Minotaur IV | MARS, LP-0B | NROL-174 | NRO |
References
- ^ "Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems - Minotaur I | NROL-111 Rocket Launch". Space Launch Schedule. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- ^ "Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems - Minotaur IV | NROL-129 Rocket Launch". Space Launch Schedule. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- ^ "Minotaur IV+ | TacSat-4". Space Launch Schedule. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
- ^ "DARPASAT". space.skyrocket.de. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ^ "Encyclopedia Astronautica: TAOS". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
- ^ "OCO". Orbital Sciences Corporation.
- ^ "Taurus rocket nose shroud dooms another NASA satellite". Spaceflight Now, March 2011.
- ^ Powell, Rebecca (16 April 2015). "Air Force Minotaur Rocket Launching from Virginia November 19". Nasa.gov. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ "ORS-3 and STPSat-3 Successfully Launched". Losangeles.af.mil. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ^ "NROL-129". Gunters Space Page. Archived from the original on 2019-03-23. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
- ^ "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Minotaur rocket successfully deploys four NRO satellites in orbit". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 15 July 2020.