Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

NROL-129

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Government/Top Secret

Low Earth Orbit Launch Area 0 B Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA Probability: 95%

Classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

Minotaur IV

Family:
Configuration:

The Minotaur IV 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.

Specifications
  • Stages
    4
  • Length
    23.9 m
  • Diameter
    2.35 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    86.0 T
  • Thrust
    2200.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Minotaur IV
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
    Peacekeeper SLV
  • Full Name
    Minotaur IV
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    1735.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Orbital ATK

Orbital ATK

(OA)

President: David W. Thompson Founded: 2015 Successes: 6 Failures: 0 Pending: 0

Agency Type:

Orbital ATK Inc. was an American aerospace manufacturer and defense industry company. It was formed in 2015 from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems. Orbital ATK was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018.

INFO WIKI

Related News

Spaceflight Now

Photos: Minotaur rocket vaults into orbit from Virginia

Spaceflight Now

Minotaur rocket successfully deploys four NRO satellites in orbit

Spaceflight Now

Minotaur rocket ready to launch four payloads for U.S. spy satellite agency

NASA Spaceflight

Northrop Grumman successfully launches NROL-129 from MARS

Spaceflight Now

Photos: Minotaur 4 rocket ready for launch from Virginia

Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

Launch Area 0 B


Falcon 9
Success
14 hours, 55 minutes ago
Starlink Group 6-66
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
18 hours, 40 minutes ago
Progress MS-29 (90P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Starship
Success
2 days, 9 hours ago
Integrated Flight Test 6
Orbital Launch Mount A - SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

Sixth test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 12 hours ago
GSAT-20 (GSAT-N2)
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

GSAT-20 is an Indian geostationary Ka-band high-throughput communications satellite. GSAT 20 is reportedly built on the I-6K unified modular bus a…


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 1 hour ago
Starlink Group 9-12
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
4 days, 8 hours ago
Optus-X/TD7
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

An unannounced geostationary communication satellite built by Northrop Grumman, alleged for the Australian telecommunications operator Optus. Details…


Long March 7
Success
6 days, 15 hours ago
Tianzhou-8
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Seventh cargo delivery mission to the Chinese space station.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 6-68
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 9-11
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 20 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 4B
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Haiyang 4-01
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Next generation Chinese ocean salinity measurements satellite to study ocean climatic changes and its effects on ecology and biological cycles.