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


Long March 2D
Success
1 day, 16 hours ago
Zhangheng-1-02
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Zhangheng 1-02, also known as CSES-02 (China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite-02), is the follow-on mission to Zhangheng 1/CSES, a Chinese–Italian sp…


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 9 hours ago
Starlink Group 12-26
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

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


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 22 hours ago
Starlink Group 15-6
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 26 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Success
4 days, 9 hours ago
The Mountain God Guards (iQPS Launch 3)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


Falcon 9
Success
5 days, 11 hours ago
Starlink Group 12-24
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

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


Falcon 9
Success
1 week ago
Starlink Group 15-8
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 26 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Sirius SXM-10
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

SXM-10 is the 11th high-powered, digital, audio radio satellite built by Maxar (SSL) for SiriusXM. The SXM-10 satellite will be based on Maxar’s prov…


Long March 6A
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
SatNet LEO Group 04
Launch Complex 9A - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

A batch of Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group. …


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 11-22
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Starlink Group 12-19
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

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