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Feature:
The Rise of the Minotaurs
 On September 22, 2005, as twilight descended on California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, an Orbital Minotaur rocket roared to life. Approximately 12 minutes later, Minotaur delivered the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) STP-R1 satellite into orbit. The launch, which created a dazzling display in the evening sky, was the second successful launch mission for Minotaur in 2005. Minotaur also boosted the U.S Air Force’s Experimental Small Satellite Number 11 (XSS-11) into orbit on April 11. Minotaur’s 2005 launches marked a coming of age of sorts for Orbital’s Minotaur Space Launcher Family, which debuted with two successful inaugural launches in 2000. The success continued in April 2006, when a Minotaur I rocket launched the Formosat-3/COSMIC constellation of remote sensing satellites into orbit for the National Space Organization of Taiwan.
About the Minotaur Family of Launchers
Launched under the U.S. Air Force Orbital/Suborbtial Program-2 (OSP-2) contract, Minotaur rockets are derived from U.S. Government-supplied Minuteman and Peacekeeper rocket motors. The space launch configurations combine commercial rocket motors, avionics and other elements with the government-supplied stages to create responsive, reliable and low-cost launch systems for U.S. government payloads. The Minotaur I space launch vehicle configuration used in the successful XSS-11 and STP-R1 launches includes Minuteman rocket motors that serve as the vehicle's first and second stages, efficiently reusing motors that have been previously decommissioned. Its third and fourth stages, structures and payload fairing are common with Orbital's highly reliable Pegasus XL rocket..
 In addition to the Minotaur I space booster, Orbital's Minotaur product line also includes
- Minotaur II - A Minuteman-based three-stage suborbital rocket, used as a target vehicle for testing U.S. missile defense systems and related missions.
- Minotaur III - A Peacekeeper-based three-stage suborbital rocket, also used as a target vehicle for testing U.S. missile defense systems and similar missions.
- Minotaur IV - A heavier-lift Peacekeeper-based four-stage space launch vehicle, used to place U.S. Government-sponsored satellites weighing up to 3,800 lbs. into low-altitude orbit. Orbital was recently awarded its first Minotaur IV contract by the U.S. Air Force to launch the Space-Based Surveillance System (SBSS) satellite.
- Minotaur V - An enhanced-performance version of the Minotaur IV space launch vehicle that may be used to launch government satellites into higher-energy orbits for missions related to space exploration and other activities beyond low-Earth orbit.
For More on Minotaur:
Orbital’s Minotuar I web page
Orbital’s Minotaur IV web page
Minotaur I Fact Sheet
Minotaur II Fact Sheet
Minotaur V Fact Sheet
Minotaur IV Fact Sheet
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©2008 Orbital Sciences Corporation. All Rights Reserved
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