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Orbital Minotaur IV launches with multiple satellites

Orbital Sciences Corporation used their Minotaur IV launch vehicle to loft eight satellites for the United States Government and university research programmes on Friday night. The mission, designated STP S-26, launched from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska one minute into a 90-minute window, wit...

STP S-26

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Dedicated Rideshare

Low Earth Orbit Launch Pad 1 Pacific Spaceport Complex, Alaska, USA

The third Minotaur IV launch, which was also known as STP-S26, deployed eight payloads (STPSat-2, RAX, O/OREOS, FASTSAT, NanoSail-D2, FalconSat-5, Sara-Lily (FASTRAC 1), Emma (FASTRAC 2)). STP-S26 was intended to extend previous standard interface development efforts, implementing a number of capabilities aimed at enabling responsive access to space for small experimental satellites and payloads.

Minotaur IV

Family: Minotaur
Configuration: HAPS

The Minotaur IV HAPS launch system is derived from the Peacekeeper ICBM. The first three stages are taken directly from decommissioned Peacekeeper missiles. A fourth stage, the Orion-38, is taken from the Pegasus family of air-launched rockets. A fifth stage, consisting of a hydrazine-powered motor called HAPS, increases orbital insertion accuracy and allows additional orbital maneuvering.

Specifications
  • Stages
    5
  • Length
    23.9 m
  • Diameter
    2.35 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    86 T
  • Thrust
    2200 kN
Family
  • Name
    Minotaur IV
  • Family
    Minotaur
  • Variant
    HAPS
  • Alias
    Peacekeeper SLV
  • Full Name
    Minotaur IV HAPS
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    1750 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Orbital Sciences Corporation

Orbital Sciences Corporation

(OSC)

Successes: 65 Failures: 7 Pending: 0

Agency Type: Commercial

INFO WIKI

Pacific Spaceport Complex, Alaska, USA

Launch Pad 1


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S-STEP
ADD Offshore launch platform - Jeju Island, South Korea

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Falcon 9
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3 days, 21 hours ago
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4 days, 6 hours ago
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31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

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Falcon 9
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1 week ago
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1 week, 2 days ago
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43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

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Long March 2D/YZ-3
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
3 x SatNet test satellites
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Officially described as "Satellite-Internet Technology Demonstration Satellite(s)" built by Chinese Academy of Sciences. Probable 3 (?) test satellit…


Falcon 9
Success
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Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Chollima-1
Success
2 weeks ago
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