Minotaur I

Active

Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC)

Jan. 27, 2000

Description

The Minotaur I launch system is derived from converted Minuteman II ICBMs and is used to launch small satellites for the US Government. The first and second stages, taken directly from decommissioned Minuteman missiles, are mated to the Orion third and fourth stages taken from the Pegasus XL air-launched rocket family. An optional hydrazine-powered fifth stage called HAPS can be used.The Minotaur I launch system is derived from converted Minuteman II ICBMs and is used to launch small satellites for the US Government. An optional hydrazine-powered fifth stage called HAPS can be used.

Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    4
  • Max Stage
    5
  • Length
    19.21 m
  • Diameter
    1.67 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
    36.0 T
  • Thrust
    935.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Minotaur I
  • Family
  • Variant
  • Alias
    Minotaur OSP-SLV
  • Full Name
    Minotaur I
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
  • Low Earth Orbit
    580.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    331.0 kg

Orbital Sciences Corporation

Commercial
None
OSC

None

Minotaur I | NROL-111

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
June 15, 2021, 1:35 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

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

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | ORS-3

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Nov. 20, 2013, 1:15 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

ORS 3 tracks rockets from orbit and can terminate, STPSat3 will host military experiments

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | ORS-1 (USA-231)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
June 30, 2011, 3:09 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

ORS-1 satellite is designed to provide orbital space imagery of Southwest Asia and to enhance battlespace awareness to operational field commanders.

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | NROL-66 (RPP) (USA-225)

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Feb. 6, 2011, 12:26 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

USA-225, also known as the Rapid Pathfinder Prototype (RPP) and NRO Launch 66 (NROL-66), is an American satellite which was launched in 2011. The satellite is being used to perform technology demonstration and development experiments, including advanced dosimeters to characterize the space environment from a 1,200 kilometer low Earth orbit. It is operated by the United States National Reconnaissance Office.

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | Tacsat 3

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
May 19, 2009, 11:55 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

American eyperimental imaging satellite part of an effort to develop modular spacecraft buses.

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | NFIRE

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
April 24, 2007, 6:48 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

American experimental satellite designed to distinguish a missile's plume and the rocket itself

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | Tacsat 2

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Dec. 16, 2006, noon
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Technology satellite for the US Air Force

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | COSMIC 1-6

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
April 15, 2006, 1:40 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

In early 2001, the National Space Program Office (NSPO) of Taiwan, Republic of China, selected Orbital for a $56 million contract for the ROCSAT-3/COSMIC (Republic of China Satellite / Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate) program. ROCSAT was renamed FORMOSAT in December 2004. The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC program is an international collaboration between Taiwan and the United States that will use a constellation of six remote sensing microsatellites to collect atmospheric data for weather prediction and for ionosphere, climate and gravity research. Data from the satellites will be made freely available to the international scientific community in near real-time.

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | STP-R1

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Sept. 23, 2005, 2:24 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Streak or STP-R1 is an Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) experimental satellite, which remains largely classified.

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | XSS-11

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
April 11, 2005, 1:35 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

USA-165 or XSS-11 (Experimental Satellite System-11) is a small, washing-machine-sized, low-cost spacecraft developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate to test technology for proximity operations.

Low Earth Orbit
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Minotaur I | Sindri

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
July 19, 2000, 8:09 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

Mightysat 2.1 (meaning first flight of the series-2 version) is an military minisatellite to test / demonstrate components for future utilization. The 130 kg spacecraft carries two kinds of hardware for tests.

Polar Orbit
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Minotaur I | JAWSAT & FalconSat 1

Orbital Sciences Corporation | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Jan. 27, 2000, 3:03 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:

The JAWSAT (Joint Air Force Academy / Weber State University Satellite) project was developed by students working alongside aerospace professionals. Initially designed with a pulsed-plasma thruster to train Air Force Academy cadets (see JAWSAT), the mission has since evolved to include the efforts of several universities, local aerospace companies, the Air Force Academy, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and NASA. Utilizing breakthrough technologies, JAWSAT deployed four satellites when it reached orbit. The onboard imaging system recorded the deployment of each payload with its six digital cameras. The first free-flying Academy satellite, FalconSat-1 carried the CHAWS (Charging Hazards and Wake Studies) experiment developed by the Physics Department at the Academy.

Low Earth Orbit
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