Space Launch Now - Minotaur IV

Minotaur IV

Active

Orbital ATK (OA)

Sept. 26, 2010

Description

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
Apogee (Sub-Orbital)
500.0 km

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

Commercial

President: David W. Thompson

OA 2015

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.

Upcoming Spaceflights

Minotaur IV | STP-S29A

Orbital ATK | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD December, 2025

Status: To Be Determined

Mission:

STP-S29A is a mission under the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Test Program (STP) that will deliver technology demonstrations to orbit and contribute to future space system development, with this launch delivering up to 200 kg of STP cubesats to Low Earth Orbit. The main payload will be STPSat-7, an ESPA class satellite based on the Aegis Aerospace M-1 satellite bus used on the STPSat-4 mission for hosting research and technology demonstration payloads for the Department of Defense (DoD). One of the payload is U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Lightsheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation (LARADO) instrument, used to detect and characterize lethal non-trackable orbital debris with lasers in orbit.

Low Earth Orbit

Explore Share

Minotaur IV | EWS OD-1

Orbital ATK | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD December, 2025

Status: To Be Determined

Mission:

The Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS) Operational Demonstration-1 (OD-1) is a weather satellite for the United States Space Force. It is a prototype satellite made by General Atomics that will be place in LEO for a three-year demonstration mission of new EO/IR sensor technologies to various US military branches, and to act as a stop-gap for Defense Department needs for weather data.

Sun-Synchronous Orbit

Explore Share

Previous Flights

flew on four previous launch(es).

Minotaur IV | NROL-174

Orbital ATK | United States of America
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
April 16, 2025, 7:33 p.m.

Status: Launch Successful

Mission:

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

Unknown

Explore Share

Minotaur IV | NROL-129

Orbital ATK | United States of America
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
July 15, 2020, 1:46 p.m.

Status: Launch Successful

Mission:

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

Low Earth Orbit

Explore Share

Minotaur IV | ORS-5

Orbital ATK | United States of America
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Aug. 26, 2017, 6:04 a.m.

Status: Launch Successful

Mission:

Also known as SensorSat, the Operationally Responsive Space 5 (ORS-5) will perform surveillance on geostationary (GEO) satellites. The craft will provide a stopgap for the existing space based surveillance system (SBSS), since full replacements are not expected until after 2020. With a mass of approximately 100kg the solar powered craft will operate in low earth orbit at an altitude of 600km.

Low Earth Orbit

Explore Share