From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Space launch vehicle
Minotaur I
Minotaur I with
NFIRE
at MARS
|
Function
| Small expendable launch system
|
---|
Manufacturer
| Northrop Grumman
|
---|
Country of origin
| United States
|
---|
|
Height
| 19.21 metres (63.0 ft)
|
---|
Diameter
| 1.67 metres (5 ft 6 in)
|
---|
Mass
| 36,200 kilograms (79,800 lb)
|
---|
Stages
| 4 or 5
|
---|
|
|
Mass
| 580 kilograms (1,280 lb)
|
---|
|
Mass
| 331 kilograms (730 lb)
|
---|
|
---|
|
Status
| Active
|
---|
Launch sites
| Vandenberg
SLC-8
MARS
LP-0B
|
---|
Total launches
| 12
|
---|
Success(es)
| 12
|
---|
First flight
| 27 January 2000
|
---|
Last flight
| 15 June 2021
|
---|
|
|
Powered by
| 1
Solid
|
---|
Maximum thrust
| 935 kilonewtons (210,000 lb
f
)
|
---|
Propellant
| Solid
|
---|
|
Powered by
| 1
Solid
|
---|
Maximum thrust
| 268 kilonewtons (60,000 lb
f
)
|
---|
Propellant
| Solid
|
---|
|
Powered by
| 1
Solid
|
---|
Maximum thrust
| 118.2 kilonewtons (26,600 lb
f
)
|
---|
Burn time
| 74 seconds
|
---|
Propellant
| Solid
|
---|
|
Powered by
| 1
Solid
|
---|
Maximum thrust
| 34.8 kilonewtons (7,800 lb
f
)
|
---|
Burn time
| 68 seconds
|
---|
Propellant
| Solid
|
---|
|
|
The
Minotaur I
, or just
Minotaur
is an American
expendable launch system
derived from the
Minuteman II
missile.
[1]
It is used to launch
small satellites
for the
US Government
, and is a member of the
Minotaur
family of rockets produced by
Orbital Sciences Corporation
(now
Northrop Grumman
).
[2]
Vehicle
[
edit
]
The Minotaur I is the follow-on to the Orbital Sciences'
Taurus
(later renamed the "Minotaur-C"
[3]
) launch vehicle, combining the original Taurus's booster stage with a second stage from a
Minuteman missile
.
[4]
Minotaur I rockets consist of the
M55A1
first stage
and
SR19
second stage of a decommissioned Minuteman missile.
[1]
The
Orion 50XL
and
Orion 38
, from the
Pegasus
rocket, are used as third and fourth stages. A HAPS (Hydrazine Auxiliary Propulsion System) upper stage can also be flown if greater precision is needed, or the rocket needs to be able to manoeuvre to deploy multiple payloads.
[5]
It can place up to 580 kilograms (1,280 lb) of payload into a 185-kilometer (115 mi)
low Earth orbit
at 28.5 degrees of
inclination
.
[1]
The Minotaur I is 69 feet tall and 5 feet wide.
[6]
Initially Minotaur I launches are conducted from
Space Launch Complex 8
at the
Vandenberg Air Force Base
. Starting with the launch of
TacSat-2
in December 2006, launches have also been conducted from
Pad 0B
at the
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
on
Wallops Island
.
[5]
Launch history
[
edit
]
There have been twelve launches of the Minotaur I, all successful.
Minotaur I launch history
Flight
|
Date (
UTC
)
|
Payload
|
Launch pad
|
Trajectory
|
Result
|
1
|
January 27, 2000
03:03:06
|
JAWSat
(P98-1) (
FalconSat1
/
ASUSat1
/
OCSE
/
OPAL
)
|
Vandenberg
SLC-8
|
LEO
|
Success
[7]
|
2
|
July 19, 2000
20:09:00
|
MightySat II.1
(Sindri, P99-1) /
MEMS 2A
/
MEMS 2B
|
Vandenberg SLC-8
|
LEO
|
Success
[8]
|
3
|
April 11, 2005
13:35:00
|
XSS-11
|
Vandenberg SLC-8
|
LEO
|
Success
[9]
|
4
|
September 23, 2005
02:24:00
|
Streak (STP-R1)
|
Vandenberg SLC-8
|
LEO
|
Success
[10]
|
5
|
April 15, 2006
01:40:00
|
COSMIC (FORMOSAT-3)
|
Vandenberg SLC-8
|
LEO
|
Success
[11]
|
6
|
December 16, 2006
12:00
|
TacSat-2
/
GeneSat-1
|
MARS
LP-0B
|
LEO
|
Success
[12]
|
7
|
April 24, 2007
06:48
|
NFIRE
|
MARS LP-0B
|
LEO
|
Success
[13]
|
8
|
May 19, 2009
23:55
|
TacSat-3
|
MARS LP-0B
|
LEO
|
Success
[14]
|
9
|
February 6, 2011
12:26
|
USA-225
(NROL-66)
|
Vandenberg SLC-8
|
LEO
|
Success
[15]
|
10
|
June 30, 2011
03:09
|
ORS-1
|
MARS
LP-0B
|
LEO
|
Success
[16]
|
11
|
November 20, 2013
01:15
|
ORS-3
,
[17]
STPSat-3
and 28
CubeSat
satellites
[18]
|
MARS LP-0B
|
LEO
|
Success
[19]
|
12
|
June 15, 2021
13:35
|
NROL
-111
|
MARS LP-0B
|
LEO
|
Success
[20]
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Minotaur I Space Launch Vehicle?Fact Sheet"
(PDF)
.
Orbital Sciences
.
NASA
. 2006. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 6 July 2022
. Retrieved
15 June
2021
.
- ^
"Minotaur Rocket"
.
Northrop Grumman
. Retrieved
2021-06-07
.
- ^
Clark, Stephen (24 February 2014).
"Taurus rocket on the market with new name, upgrades"
. Spaceflight Now
. Retrieved
26 May
2014
.
- ^
"Minotaur I Space Launch Vehicle"
(PDF)
.
NASA
. 2006. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on February 25, 2017
. Retrieved
March 12,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Minotaur I User's Guide - Release 3.0"
(PDF)
.
Orbital Sciences Corporation
. Retrieved
1 September
2015
.
- ^
"NASA - TacSat-2 Mission Information"
.
www.nasa.gov
. Retrieved
2021-08-03
.
- ^
Ray, Justin.
"Spaceflight Now - Minotaur Mission Report - Mission Status Center - JAWSAT"
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
Ray, Justin.
"Spaceflight Now - Minotaur Mission Report - Mission Status Center - Mightysat 2.1"
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
Ray, Justin.
"Minotaur rocket launches U.S. military spacecraft"
. Spaceflight Now
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
Ray, Justin.
"Rocket launch paints sky with breath-taking scene"
. Spaceflight Now
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
Ray, Justin.
"Spaceflight Now - Minotaur Mission Report - Mission Status Center - COSMIC"
. Spaceflight Now
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
Clark, Stephen.
"Minotaur rocket makes sunrise ascent from Virginia"
. Spaceflight Now
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
Ray, Justin.
"Missile research spacecraft soars into orbit from Virginia"
. Spaceflight Now
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
Clark, Stephen.
"Minotaur lofts experimental satellite for U.S. military"
. Spaceflight Now
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
"Orbital Successfully Launches Minotaur I Rocket for U.S. Air Force"
.
Orbital Sciences Corporation
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
"Orbital Successfully Launches Minotaur I Rocket Carrying ORS-1 Satellite for the U.S. Air Force"
.
Orbital Sciences Corporation
. Retrieved
21 April
2013
.
- ^
"Media Accreditation Open for ORS-3 Mission from Wallops in November"
.
NASA
. 30 October 2013
. Retrieved
30 October
2013
.
- ^
"Orbital's Minotaur I successfully lofts multitude of payloads"
.
NASASpaceFlight.com
. 19 November 2013
. Retrieved
20 November
2013
.
- ^
"Orbital Successfully Launches Minotaur I Rocket Supporting ORS-3 Mission for the U.S. Air Force"
.
Wall Street Journal
. Retrieved
20 November
2013
.
- ^
"Northrop Grumman Successfully Launches Minotaur I Rocket for the National Reconnaissance Office"
.
Northrop Grumman
. 15 June 2021
. Retrieved
15 June
2021
.
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Current
| |
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In development
| |
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Retired
| |
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Classes
| |
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- This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future
- Symbol
†
indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)
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Active
| |
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In development
| |
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Retired
| |
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- * - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages
- ** - uses Russian engines
- †
- never succeeded
- ††
- no new orders accepted
- †††
- used Ukrainian first stage
|