Tag: Minotaur
-
Minotaur rocket selected to launch military satellite in 2017
File photo of an Orbital ATK Minotaur 4 rocket on a launch pad at Kodiak Island, Alaska. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now Cape Canaveral will get its first Minotaur rocket launch in 2017, when the solid-fueled booster will send up a U.S. Air Force space surveillance satellite under a contract with Orbital ATK. An upgraded Minotaur…
-
Orbital’s Minotaur I successfully lofts multitude of payloads
Orbital Sciences Corporation have launched the ORS-3 mission for the US military, using a Minotaur I rocket to demonstrate technology aimed at reducing costs for future missions. The rocket lofted a record 29 satellites, as well as two attached payloads, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island at 20:15 local time Tuesday (01:15 UTC…
-
Orbital’s strong performance benefiting space industry partners
Orbital announced their third quarter earnings for 2013 on Thursday, providing an overview of a company that is generating good profit margins and strong free cash flow. The quarter saw the second successful launch of the Antares rocket and the debut of their Cygnus spacecraft – with several other space industry partners benefiting in their success.…
-
Orbital’s Minotaur V launches LADEE mission to the Moon
NASA’s latest mission to the Moon launched aboard an Orbital Sciences Minotaur rocket Friday night. Liftoff of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer from the Wallops launch facility was on schedule at (23:27 EDT) 03:27 UTC on Saturday. LADEE Mission: The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE, is the fifth NASA mission…
-
Orbital Minotaur IV launches with TacSat-4
An Orbital Minotaur IV+ rocket has launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska, on Tuesday, carrying an experimental communications satellite for the United States Navy and Operationally Responsive Space Office. Liftoff was on schedule at 15:49 UTC (07:49 local time). Minotaur IV Launch: TacSat-4 is the third in a series of experimental satellites intended to demonstrate new technologies for…
-
Orbital Minotaur IV launches with multiple satellites
Orbital Sciences Corporation used their Minotaur IV launch vehicle to loft eight satellites for the United States Government and university research programmes on Friday night. The mission, designated STP S-26, launched from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska one minute into a 90-minute window, with a lift-off time of 20:25 pm Eastern (01:25 UTC). Minotaur…
-
First Minotaur IV launches with Hypersonic Test Vehicle
An Orbital Minotaur IV rocket has made its maiden flight on Thursday – with lift off from Space Launch Complex 8 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California occurring at 4pm local time (Pacific). The rocket is set to fly a suborbital trajectory, carrying a prototype hypersonic reentry vehicle. Launch Preview: Like other members of the Minotaur family…
-
Orbital successfully launch TacSat-3 via Minotaur 1
An Orbital Minotaur 1 has finally launched from the Wallops Island Flight Facility with the Tactical Satellite-3 (TacSat-3) satellite. The launch was heavily postponed, with several scrubs relating from the weather to the launch vehicle and facility. It was via the earlier TacSat-2 mission that the Minotaur I demonstrated its ability to provide a near-term,…