Orbital’s Minotaur-I space launch successfully launched the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Tactical Satellite-3 (TacSat-3) on May 19, 2009 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, VA. The TacSat-3 mission, the eighth since the Minotaur Vehicle’s debut in 2000, originated from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA. The TacSat-3 launch was the third Minotaur I mission from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
About Minotaur I
The Minotaur I space launch vehicle uses residual Minuteman II first and second stage rocket motors along with the upper two stages shared with Orbital’s Pegasus XL and Taurus XL commercial space launch vehicles. The combination of decommissioned ICBM motors with commercial boosters and state-of-the-art hardware is one of Orbital’s unique strengths from experience spanning several decades.
To date, Minotaur I has conducted 8 successful launches with a 100% success rate, launching 30 satellites into orbit. The Minotaur family of launch vehicles are provided via the Orbital/Suborbital Program 2 (OSP-2) and managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), Space Development and Test Wing’s (SDTW) Launch Test Squadron (LTS) located at Kirtland AFB, NM
For more information:
Orbital’s Minotaur I web page
Minotaur I Fact Sheet
Minotaur I Photos
AFRL TacSat-3 Fact Sheet
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
Launch Webcast |
