The Minotaur I, or just Minotaur is an American expendable launch system derived from the Minuteman II missile. 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).
Vehicle Minotaur I rockets consist of the M55A1 first stage and SR19 second stage of a decommissioned Minuteman missile. 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 maneuver to deploy multiple payloads. It can place up to of payload into a low Earth orbit at 28.5 degrees of inclination.
The Minotaur I is 69 feet tall and 5 feet wide.
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.
Launch history There have been thirteen launches of the Minotaur I, all successful.
+ Minotaur I launch history FlightDate (UTC) Payload Launch pad Trajectory Result 1January 27, 200003:03:06 JAWSat (P98-1) (FalconSat1 / ASUSat1 / OCSE / OPAL) Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO 2July 19, 200020:09:00 MightySat II.1 (Sindri, P99-1) / MEMS 2A / MEMS 2B Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO 3April 11, 200513:35:00 XSS-11 Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO 4September 23, 200502:24:00 Streak (STP-R1) Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO 5April 15, 200601:40:00 COSMIC (FORMOSAT-3) Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO 6December 16, 200612:00 TacSat-2 / GeneSat-1 MARS LP-0B LEO 7April 24, 200706:48 NFIRE MARS LP-0B LEO 8May 19, 200923:55 TacSat-3 MARS LP-0B LEO 9February 6, 201112:26 USA-225 (NROL-66) Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO 10June 30, 201103:09 ORS-1 MARS LP-0B LEO 11November 20, 201301:15 ORS-3, STPSat-3 and 28 CubeSat satellites MARS LP-0B LEO 12June 15, 202113:35 NROL-111 MARS LP-0B LEO 13June 18, 202407:01Mk21A reentry vehicle testVandenberg TP-01Suborbital
See also Comparison of orbital launchers families Comparison of orbital launch systems
References