- Minotaur (rocket family)
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Minotaur I rocket launching Mightysat-2.1
The Minotaur is a family of American solid fuel rockets derived from converted Minuteman and Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. They are built by Orbital Sciences Corporation.
Two variants of the Minotaur are currently in service. The Minotaur I is an orbital launch system used to launch small satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). The Minotaur II, also known as Chimera and TLV, is used for suborbital flights, often as a target for tracking and anti-ballistic missile tests. The Minotaur IV is a more capable LEO launch system. Two more versions are also under development. These are the Minotaur III, which will also be used for suborbital flights, and the Minotaur V, which is designed to reach higher orbits, including GTO and trans-lunar trajectories. The Minotaur I and II are derived from the Minuteman missile, while the Minotaur III, IV and V are derived from the Peacekeeper.
Contents
Minotaur I
Main article: Minotaur IThe original Minotaur launch vehicle, consisting of an M55A1 first stage, SR19 second stage, Orion 50XL third stage, Orion 38 fourth stage, and optional HAPS fifth stage for velocity trim and multiple payload deployment. Payload 580 kg to a 185 km, 28.5 degree orbit from Cape Canaveral; or 310 kg to a 740 km sun-synchronous orbit from Vandenberg.[1]
Minotaur II
Main article: Minotaur IIA suborbital target vehicle, essentially consisting of a Minuteman II with Orbital guidance and control systems. Consists of M55A1 first stage, SR19 second stage, and M57 third stage. Payload 460 kg on 6700 km suborbital trajectory.[1]
Minotaur III
Main article: Minotaur IIIA suborbital target vehicle, consisting of an SR-118 first stage, SR-119 second stage, SR-120 third stage, and Super HAPS fourth stage. Payload 3060 kg on a 6700 km suborbital trajectory.[1]
Minotaur IV
Main article: Minotaur IVThe Minotaur IV combines U.S Government-furnished solid rocket motors from decommissioned Peacekeeper ICBMs with technologies from other Orbital-built launch vehicles, including the Minotaur I, Pegasus, and Taurus. The Minotaur IV launch vehicle consists of an SR118 first stage, SR119 second stage, SR120 third stage, and Orion 38 fourth stage. Payload 1735 kg to a 185 km, 28.5 degree orbit from Cape Canaveral. The first Minotaur IV was launched April 22, 2010 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.[2] This vehicle is also being developed to accommodate the Conventional Prompt Global Strike mission for the Air Force. (CPGS)
Minotaur V
Main article: Minotaur VA Minotaur V five-stage version has also been conceptualized. It would have an additional upper stage for small GTO, lunar, and interplanetary missions. NASA has awarded a contract to the Orbital Sciences Corporation, managed by the Air Force's Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW), to use a Minotaur V to launch the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) Mission from the Wallops Island, Virginia launch site in early 2013. The Minotaur will launch the LADEE spacecraft into a highly elliptic orbit where it can phase and time its trajectory burn to the moon.
Launch history
Date (UTC) Rocket Flight Payload Launch pad Trajectory Result January 27, 2000 03:03:06 Minotaur I 1 JAWSat (P98-1) (FalconSat1 / ASUSat1 / OCSE / OPAL) Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO Success May 28, 2000 20:00 Minotaur II 1 OSP-TLV Missile Defense Technology Demonstrator Vandenberg LF-06 Suborbital Success July 19, 2000 20:09:00 Minotaur I 2 MightySat II.1 (Sindri, P99-1) / MEMS 2A / MEMS 2B Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO Success December 4, 2001 04:59 Minotaur II 2 TLV-1 IFT-7 GMDS target mission Vandenberg LF-06 Suborbital Success March 16, 2002 02:11 Minotaur II 3 TLV-2 IFT-8 GMDS target mission Vandenberg LF-06 Suborbital Success October 15, 2002 02:01 Minotaur II 4 TLV-3 GMDS target mission Vandenberg LF-06 Suborbital Success December 11, 2002 08:26 Minotaur II 5 TLV-4 GMDS target mission Vandenberg LF-06 Suborbital Success April 11, 2005 13:35:00 Minotaur I 3 XSS-11 Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO Success September 23, 2005 02:24:00 Minotaur I 4 Streak (STP-R1) Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO Success April 15, 2006 01:40:00 Minotaur I 5 COSMIC (FORMOSAT-3) Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO Success December 16, 2006 12:00 Minotaur I 6 TacSat-2 / GeneSat-1 MARS LP-0B LEO Success March 21, 2007 04:27 Minotaur II 6 TLV-5 FTX-02 SBR target mission Vandenberg LF-06 Suborbital Success April 24, 2007 06:48 Minotaur I 7 NFIRE MARS LP-0B LEO Success August 23, 2007 08:30 Minotaur II+ 7 TLV-7 Mission 2a sensor target for NFIRE satellite Vandenberg LF-06 Suborbital Success September 24, 2008 06:57 Minotaur II+ 8 TLV-8 Mission 2b sensor target for NFIRE satellite Vandenberg LF-06 Suborbital Success May 19, 2009 19:55 Minotaur I 8 TacSat-3 / PharmaSat / AeroCube 3 / HawkSat I / CP-6 MARS LP-0B LEO Success April 22, 2010 23:00 Minotaur IV Lite 1 HTV-2a hypersonic research spacecraft Vandenberg SLC-8 Suborbital Success September 26, 2010 04:41 Minotaur IV 2 SBSS Vandenberg SLC-8 SSO Success November 19, 2010 01:45 Minotaur IV HAPS 3 FASTRAC-A / FASTRAC-B / FalconSat-5 / FASTSAT / O/OREOS / RAX Kodiak LP-1 LEO Success February 6, 2011 12:26 Minotaur I 9 NROL-66 Vandenberg SLC-8 LEO Success June 30th, 2011 03:09 Minotaur I 10 ORS-1 MARS LP-0B LEO Success August 11th, 2011 10:46am EDT Minotaur IV 4 Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HVT-2b) Vandenberg Air Force Base Suborbital Success September 27th, 2011 11:49 EDT Minotaur IV 5 TacSat-4 Kodiak LP-1 HEO Success References
- ^ a b c "Minotaur". Encyclopedia Astronautix. http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/minotaur.htm.
- ^ "Minotaur IV". Orbital Sciences Corporation. http://www.orbital.com/SpaceLaunch/Minotaur/IV/.
External links
- Minotaur I Rocket page
- Minotaur IV Rocket page
- Image of the September 2005 launch
- Encyclopedia Astronautix Entry for Minotaur
Rocket families Carrier rockets Soviet/RussianUSAOther nationsSounding rockets Missiles Some families contain more than one type of rocket. These are listed by the function for which they are most well known. Expendable launch systems Current Ariane 5 · Atlas V · Delta (II · IV) · Dnepr-1 · GSLV · H-IIA · H-IIB · Kaituozhe-1 · Kosmos-3M · Long March (1D · 2C · 2D · 2F · 3A · 3B · 3C · 4B · 4C) · Minotaur (I · IV) · Naro-1 · Paektusan · Pegasus · Proton (K · M) · PSLV · Rokot · Safir · Shavit · Shtil' · Start-1 · Strela · Soyuz (U · FG · 2) · Taurus · Unha · VLS-1 · Volna · Zenit (2 · 2M · 3SL · 3SLB)
Planned Angara · Athena (Ic · IIc) · GSLV III · Haas · Long March (5 · 6 · 7) · Minotaur V · RPS-420 · Rus-M · Soyuz-1 · Simorgh · TSLV · Taurus II · Tsyklon-4 · Vega · Zenit-3F
Previous Ariane (1 · 2 · 3 · 4) · ASLV · Athena (I · II) · Atlas (B · D · E/F · G · H · I · II · III · LV-3B · SLV-3 · Able · Agena · Centaur) · Black Arrow · Caleb · Conestoga · Delta (A · B · C · D · E · G · J · L · M · N · 0100 · 1000 · 2000 · 3000 · 4000 · 5000 · III) · Diamant · Energia · Europa · Falcon 1* · Feng Bao 1 · H-I · H-II · J-I · Juno I · Juno II · Kosmos (1 · 2I · 3) · Lambda (4S) · Long March (1 · 2A · 2E · 3 · 4A) · Mu (4S · 3C · 3H · 3S · 3SII · V) · N1 · N-I · N-II · Pilot · R-7 (Luna · Molniya (M) · Polyot · Soyuz (L · M · U2) · Soyuz/Vostok · Sputnik · Voskhod · Vostok (L · K · 2 · 2M)) · Saturn (I · IB · V · INT-21) · Scout · SLV · Sparta · Thor (Able · Ablestar · Agena · Burner · Delta · DSV-2U) · Thorad-Agena · Titan (II GLV · IIIA · IIIB · IIIC · IIID · IIIE · 34D · 23G · CT-3 · IV) · Tsyklon (2 · 3) · Vanguard
- - Falcon 1 designed for partial reuse, however recovery failed on the first three flights and remaining vehicles were flown expendably
United States orbital launch systems Active In development Retired Ares I · Ares V · Athena (I · II) · Atlas (B · D · E/F · G · H · I · II · III · LV-3B · SLV-3 · Able · Agena · Centaur) · Caleb · Conestoga · Delta (A · B · C · D · E · G · J · L · M · N · 0100 · 1000 · 2000 · 3000 · 4000 · 5000 · III) · H-I* · Juno I · Juno II · N-I* · N-II* · Pilot · Saturn (I · IB · V · INT-21) · Scout · Shuttle · Sparta · Thor (Able · Ablestar · Agena · Burner · Delta · DSV-2U) · Thorad-Agena · Titan (II GLV · IIIA · IIIB · IIIC · IIID · IIIE · 34D · 23G · CT-3 · IV) · Vanguard- - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages
Categories:- Solid-fuel rockets
- Minotaur rockets
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