Minotaur Credit - OSC

All-solid orbital launch vehicle. Country: USA. Status: Active.

Minotaur was developed for the US Air Force's Orbital/Suborbital Program (OSP) as a low-cost, four-stage Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) using a combination of government-supplied surplus Minuteman II ICBM motors and proven Orbital space launch technologies. Proposed growth versions would use surplus Peacekeeper rocket stages.

The Minuteman motors served as the vehicle's first and second stages. Minotaur's third and fourth stages, structures and payload fairing were taken directly from Orbital's existing Pegasus XL rocket. Its capabilities were enhanced with the addition of improved avionics systems, including a Modular Avionics Control Hardware (MACH), already used on many of Orbital's suborbital launch vehicles.

Minotaur made its inaugural flight in January 2000, successfully delivering a number of small military and university satellites into orbit and marking the first-use of surplus Minuteman boosters in a space launch.

Several derivatives of Minotaur were developed or proposed:

• Minotaur I (the original Minotaur), consisting of an M55A1 first stage, SR19 second stage, Orion 50XL third stage, Orion 38 fourth stage, and optional HAPS fifth stage for velocity trim and multiple payload deployment. Payload 580 kg to an 185 km, 28.5 degree orbit from Cape Canaveral; 310 kg to a 740 km sun-synchronous orbit from Vandenberg.
• Minotaur II (a suborbital target vehicle), consisting of an M55A1 first stage, SR19 second stage, and M57 third stage - essentially a Minuteman II with Orbital guidance and control systems. 440 kg payload on a 6700 km suborbital trajectory. (Launches are listed at the Minuteman 2 page).
• Minotaur III (a suborbital target vehicle), using surplus Peacekeeper rocket stages, with an SR-118 first stage, SR-119 second stage, SR-120 third stage, and Super HAPS fourth stage. 3060 kg payload on a 6700 km suborbital trajectory.
• Minotaur IV (space launch vehicle), as Minotaur III but with an Orion 38 fourth stage and optional HAPS fifth stage. Payload 1720 kg to an 185 km, 28.5 degree orbit from Cape Canaveral; 1000 kg to a 740 km sun-synchronous orbit from Vandenberg.
• Minotaur V (space launch vehicle for putting small spacecraft on high-energy trajectories, such as GTO, HEO, and lunar), as Minotaur IV but with a Star 48V fourth stage and Orion 38 fifth stage. Payload 560 kg to a geosynchronous transfer orbit.

All of the Minotaur-family launches to date have been from Vandenberg AFB, CA. Minotaur I launches were from Space Launch Complex 8 (SLC-8), the Spaceport Systems Incorporated (SSI) Commercial Launch Facility (CLF). Minotaur II launches have all been from Launch Facility 06 (LF-06).

Manufacturer: Orbital. Launches: 14. Success Rate: 100.00%. First Launch Date: 2000-01-27. Last Launch Date: 2007-08-23. Launch data is: continuing. LEO Payload: 640 kg (1,410 lb). to: 185 km Orbit. at: 28.50 degrees. Payload: 335 kg (738 lb). to a: Sun synchronous, 741 km, 98.6 deg inclination trajectory. Apogee: 1,000 km (600 mi). Associated Spacecraft: MEMS, Mightysat 1, Picosat. Liftoff Thrust: 720.000 kN (161,860 lbf). Total Mass: 36,200 kg (79,800 lb). Core Diameter: 1.67 m (5.47 ft). Total Length: 19.21 m (63.02 ft). Recurring Price $: 12.500 million. in: 1999 price dollars. Version:

Minotaur 1. Status: Active.

Launches: 7. First Launch Date: 2000-01-27. Last Launch Date: 2007-04-24. Liftoff Thrust: 340.000 kN (76,430 lbf). Total Mass: 36,300 kg (80,000 lb). Core Diameter: 1.68 m (5.51 ft). Total Length: 19.20 m (62.90 ft).

• Stage1: 1 x Minuteman-1. Gross Mass: 23,077 kg (50,876 lb). Empty Mass: 2,292 kg (5,052 lb). Motor: 1 x M55/TX-55/Tu-122. Thrust (vac): 791.300 kN (177,891 lbf). Isp: 262 sec. Burn time: 60 sec. Length: 7.49 m (24.57 ft). Diameter: 1.67 m (5.47 ft). Propellants: Solid.

• Stage2: 1 x Minuteman 2-2. Gross Mass: 7,032 kg (15,502 lb). Empty Mass: 795 kg (1,752 lb). Motor: 1 x SR-19. Thrust (vac): 267.700 kN (60,181 lbf). Isp: 288 sec. Burn time: 66 sec. Length: 4.12 m (13.51 ft). Diameter: 1.33 m (4.36 ft). Propellants: Solid.

• Stage3: 1 x Pegasus XL-2. Gross Mass: 4,331 kg (9,548 lb). Empty Mass: 416 kg (917 lb). Motor: 1 x Pegasus XL-2. Thrust (vac): 153.503 kN (34,509 lbf). Isp: 290 sec. Burn time: 73 sec. Length: 3.58 m (11.74 ft). Diameter: 1.27 m (4.16 ft). Propellants: Solid.

• Stage4: 1 x Pegasus-3. Gross Mass: 985 kg (2,171 lb). Empty Mass: 203 kg (447 lb). Motor: 1 x Pegasus-3. Thrust (vac): 34.568 kN (7,771 lbf). Isp: 293 sec. Burn time: 65 sec. Length: 2.08 m (6.82 ft). Diameter: 0.97 m (3.18 ft). Propellants: Solid.

• Stage1: 1 x Minuteman-1. Gross Mass: 23,077 kg (50,876 lb). Empty Mass: 2,292 kg (5,052 lb). Motor: 1 x M55/TX-55/Tu-122. Thrust (vac): 791.300 kN (177,891 lbf). Isp: 262 sec. Burn time: 60 sec. Length: 7.49 m (24.57 ft). Diameter: 1.67 m (5.47 ft). Propellants: Solid.

• Stage2: 1 x Minuteman 2-2. Gross Mass: 7,032 kg (15,502 lb). Empty Mass: 795 kg (1,752 lb). Motor: 1 x SR-19. Thrust (vac): 267.700 kN (60,181 lbf). Isp: 288 sec. Burn time: 66 sec. Length: 4.12 m (13.51 ft). Diameter: 1.33 m (4.36 ft). Propellants: Solid.

• Stage3: 1 x Pegasus XL-2. Gross Mass: 4,331 kg (9,548 lb). Empty Mass: 416 kg (917 lb). Motor: 1 x Pegasus XL-2. Thrust (vac): 153.503 kN (34,509 lbf). Isp: 290 sec. Burn time: 73 sec. Length: 3.58 m (11.74 ft). Diameter: 1.27 m (4.16 ft). Propellants: Solid.

• Stage4: 1 x Pegasus-3. Gross Mass: 985 kg (2,171 lb). Empty Mass: 203 kg (447 lb). Motor: 1 x Pegasus-3. Thrust (vac): 34.568 kN (7,771 lbf). Isp: 293 sec. Burn time: 65 sec. Length: 2.08 m (6.82 ft). Diameter: 0.97 m (3.18 ft). Propellants: Solid.

2000 January 27 - 03:03 GMT - Vandenberg SLC8. Minotaur 1 1 JAWSAT Mass: 64 kg (141 lb). Spacecraft: JAWSAT. Agency: Weber St. Perigee: 753 km (468 mi). Apogee: 805 km (501 mi). Inclination: 100.20 deg. Period: 100.36 min. Joint USAF Academy/Weber State Satellite. Payloads included a plasma experiment, a particle detector, and a technology test.

2000 May 28 - 20:00 GMT - Vandenberg LF06. Minotaur 2 TLV Demo OSPTLV 1 Target mission Agency: USAF AFMC. Apogee: 1,300 km (800 mi). OSP-TLV (TLV-Demo) Missile Defense Technology

2000 July 19 - 20:09 GMT - Vandenberg SLC8. Minotaur 1 2 Mightysat 2.1 Mass: 120 kg (260 lb). Spacecraft: SA-200. Agency: USAF STP. Perigee: 547 km (340 mi). Apogee: 581 km (361 mi). Inclination: 97.78 deg. Period: 95.86 min. Mightysat 2.1, also known as Sindri, used a Spectrum Astro SA-200B satellite bus. The spacecraft carried a hyperspectral imager for earth imaging and spectroscopy, as well as satellite technology experiments such as advanced solar arrays. An Aerospace Corp./DARPA picosatellite experiment, consisting of two small boxes connected by a deployable tether, was deployed later. Similar picosats were deployed on the previous Minotaur launch in January 2000.

2001 December 4 - 04:59 GMT - Vandenberg LF06. Minotaur 2 TLV-1 IFT-7 GMDS target mission Agency: USAF AFSPC. Apogee: 1,600 km (900 mi). Instead of Lockheed Martin’s Multi-Service Launch System, Orbital’s Target Launch Vehicle was used (both being versions of surplus Minuteman 2 ICBM's). The target set, a mock warhead and a single decoy, did not change.

2002 March 16 - 02:11 GMT - Vandenberg LF03. Minotaur 2 TLV-2 IFT-8 GMDS target mission Agency: USAF AFSPC. Apogee: 1,600 km (900 mi). A mock warhead and three decoy balloons (one large, two small) were used to increase the difficulty of determining the target’s location.

2002 October 15 - 02:01 GMT - Vandenberg LF06. Minotaur 2 TLV-3 GMDS (OSP/TLV-4?) target mission Agency: USAF AFSPC. Apogee: 1,600 km (900 mi). ABM target, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base towards the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein. The target suite consisted of a mock warhead and a number of decoys.

2002 December 11 - 08:26 GMT - Vandenberg LF06. Minotaur 2 TLV-4 GMDS (OSP/TLV-5?) target mission Agency: USAF AFSPC. Apogee: 1,600 km (900 mi). ABM target.This was to have been the first night-test of the GMDS, and presumably the decoy suite was more complex than previously used.

2005 April 11 - 13:35 GMT - Vandenberg SLC8. Minotaur 1 3 USA 165 Mass: 145 kg (319 lb). Spacecraft: XSS. Agency: USAF Research Laboratory. Perigee: 840 km (520 mi). Apogee: 872 km (541 mi). Inclination: 98.80 deg. Period: 102.10 min. Delayed from November 9, 2004; January 19, March 18, 2005. Military Autonomous Rendezvous Technology. It tested navigation technologies for rendezvous that directly measured relative position to the target satellite. It was have to rendezvoused with several defunct American satellites. However it was only known to have conducted operations with its own Minotaur upper stage

2005 September 23 - 02:24 GMT - Vandenberg SLC8. Minotaur 1 4 USA 185 Mass: 417 kg (919 lb). Agency: DARPA. Perigee: 295 km (183 mi). Apogee: 318 km (197 mi). Inclination: 96.30 deg. Period: 90.70 min. Delayed from May, June, July, 2005. Classified research satellite, said to carry instruments to characterise the space environment in a sun-synchronous orbit.

2006 April 15 - 01:40 GMT - Vandenberg SLC8. Minotaur 1 5 Formosat 3A Mass: 70 kg (154 lb). Spacecraft: MicroStar. Agency: NSPO. Perigee: 496 km (308 mi). Apogee: 538 km (334 mi). Inclination: 72.00 deg. Period: 95.00 min. FORMOSAT-3 consisted of six small 62 kg Orbcomm-type satellites with GPS receivers which were to measure atmospheric conditions by studying the effect of the atmosphere on GPS satellite signals passing through it. The satellites, also known as COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate), would eventually be positioned in equally spaced orbit planes at around 800 km altitude.

2006 December 16 - 12:00 GMT - Wallops Island LA0B. Minotaur 1 6 Tacsat-2 Mass: 370 kg (810 lb). Spacecraft: Tacsat-2. Agency: AFRL. Perigee: 410 km (250 mi). Apogee: 426 km (264 mi). Inclination: 40.01 deg. Period: 92.93 min. Tacsat-2 was a prototype rapid development/rapid deployment tactical military satellite that provided American Joint Task Force commanders direct control of a satellite providing both SIGINT and imagery with a resolution of better than 1-m. The known communications payload used an 8 GHz (X-band) downlink. This was the first orbital launch from Wallops Island since 1985. TacSat-2 was to have been launched by a Falcon-1 from Vandenberg into a sun-synchronous orbit. However, the failure of Falcon-1 on its long-delayed maiden in March 2006 caused AFRL to award a new launch contract for TacSat-2 and TacSat-3 to OSC in May 2006. The launch was achieved using OSC's Minotaur launch vehicle only seven months after contract award.

2007 March 21 - 04:27 GMT - Vandenberg LF06. Minotaur 2 TLV-5 FTX-02 SBR Target Agency: USAF AFSPC. Apogee: 1,300 km (800 mi).

2007 April 24 - 06:48 GMT - Wallops Island LA0B. Minotaur 1 7 NFIRE Mass: 494 kg (1,089 lb). Spacecraft: SA-200. Agency: USAFRL. Perigee: 489 km (303 mi). Apogee: 497 km (308 mi). Inclination: 48.20 deg. Period: 94.50 min. Near Field Infrared Experiment conducted by the US Missile Defense Agency. Its Track Sensor Payload included visible and short, medium and long wave infrared sensors to observe missiles launched from the ground, and obtain basic data to distinguish between the missile and its hot rocket exhaust plume for application to anti-ballistic missile systems. Secondary payloads included Tesat, a German laser communications terminal, and its hydrazine propulsion system. This was used to maneuver the satellite from its initial 255 km x 465 km x 48.2 deg orbit to 489 km x 497 km by 18 May. The orbit was changed to 243 km x 487 km on 9 August and by 23 August was 219 km x 450 km. The satellite had a dry mass of 380 kg dry, was 2.7 m long and 1.3 m in diameter.

The first major sensor test occurred when Minotaur II rocket TLV-7, was fired at 08:30 GMT on 23 August from Vandenberg in NFIRE Mission 2a. The Minotaur II was aimed to pass within 4 and 20 km of the NFIRE satellite while its third stage motor burning, to allow NFIRE to get a close look at the rocket and its exhaust. The Missile Defense Agency reported that the experiment was successful.

2007 August 23 - 08:30 GMT - Vandenberg LF06. Minotaur 2 TLV-7 TLV-7 Agency: USAF. Apogee: 1,300 km (800 mi). Mission 2a sensor target for the NFIRE satellite. The Minotaur II, a three-stage refurbished Minuteman 2 missile with a new guidance and payload section, was aimed to pass within 4 and 20 km of the NFIRE satellite while its third stage motor was burning, to allow NFIRE's sensors to characterize the the rocket and its exhaust. The Missile Defense Agency reported that Mission 2a was successful.