{"id":14383,"date":"2017-08-25T22:53:12","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T14:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/minotaur-4-launch-timeline-with-the-ors-5-satellite\/"},"modified":"2017-08-25T22:53:12","modified_gmt":"2017-08-25T14:53:12","slug":"minotaur-4-launch-timeline-with-the-ors-5-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/minotaur-4-launch-timeline-with-the-ors-5-satellite\/","title":{"rendered":"Minotaur 4 launch timeline with the ORS-5 satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"

Track the major events during the Minotaur 4 rocket\u2019s 28-minute climb into a unique equatorial orbit with the ORS-5 space surveillance satellite for the U.S. military\u2019s Operationally Responsive Space office.<\/p>\n

Standing around eight stories tall, the five-stage rocket is set for liftoff during a four-hour launch window opening at 11:15 p.m. EDT Friday (0315 GMT) Saturday from Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.<\/p>\n

Here is a diagram of the Minotaur 4\u2019s flight sequence, and a list of major events during the rocket\u2019s ascent into space.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Credit: Orbital ATK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:00 \u2014 <\/strong>Liftoff: <\/strong>The first stage\u2019s decommissioned Peacekeeper SR118 solid rocket motor ignites to begin the Minotaur 4 rocket\u2019s mission. Pitch and roll commands two seconds later will put the rocket on the proper trajectory.<\/p>\n

T+00:36 \u2014 Max-Q: <\/strong>Aerodynamic pressure on the vehicle reaches its peak as the Minotaur 4 accelerates through the lower atmosphere.<\/p>\n

T+00:56 \u2014<\/strong> Stage 1 Separation\/Stage 2 Ignition: <\/strong>At an altitude of 16 miles, the rocket\u2019s ATK-built solid-fueled first stage exhausts its supply of propellant and is jettisoned. The second stage\u2019s SR119 motor ignites to continue the flight toward space.<\/p>\n

T+01:54 \u2014 Stage 2 Burnout: <\/strong>The second stage SR119 motor, built by Aerojet Rocketdyne, burns out at an altitude of 58 miles.<\/p>\n

T+02:05 \u2014 Stage 2 Separation\/Stage 3 Ignition: <\/strong>After a 15-second coast, the Hercules SR120 third stage motor fires for a 72-second burn.<\/p>\n

T+02:24 \u2014 Fairing Jettison: <\/strong>The 92-inch graphite-epoxy aluminum honeycomb payload fairing that protected the satellites during the ride through the lower atmosphere is jettisoned as the rocket ascends into space at an altitude of 81 miles.<\/p>\n

T+03:17 \u2014 Stage 3 Burnout: <\/strong>The Hercules SR120 motor completes its burn and the Minotaur 4 enters a coast period lasting more than 10 minutes, during which the vehicle\u2019s altitude will soar to more than 350 miles.<\/p>\n

T+13:44 \u2014 Stage 3 Separation: <\/strong>The Minotaur\u2019s third stage is released to re-enter Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

T+13:55 \u2014 <\/strong>Stage 4 Ignition: <\/strong>An Orion 38 solid rocket motor is ignited to deliver the ORS-5 satellite and three CubeSat secondary payloads into a preliminary parking orbit between 248 miles and 372 miles (400-600 kilometers) in altitude at an inclination of 24.5 degrees.<\/p>\n

T+15:02 \u2014 Stage 4 Burnout: <\/strong>The fourth stage Orion 38 motor uses up its propellant and burns out as it enters the targeted elliptical parking orbit, beginning a 10-minute coast phase.<\/p>\n

T+17:02 \u2014 Begin CubeSat deployments: <\/strong>Three U.S. government CubeSats begin deploying from the Minotaur 4, separating at 30-second intervals.<\/p>\n

T+25:07 \u2014 Stage 4 Separation: <\/strong>The fourth stage Orion 38 jettisons in preparation for ignition of the fifth stage Orion 38 rocket motor, a segment added to the Minotaur 4 to direct the ORS-5 satellite into its unique equatorial orbit.<\/p>\n

T+25:18 \u2014 Stage 5 Ignition: <\/strong>The fifth stage Orion 38 motor ignites for a 69-second burn.<\/p>\n

T+26:27 \u2014 Stage 5 Burnout: <\/strong>The Orion 38 motor burns out after reaching a circular 372-mile-high (600-kilometer) orbit over the equator.<\/p>\n

T+28:28 \u2014 ORS-5 Separation: <\/strong>The 249-pound (113-kilogram) ORS-5 spacecraft separates from the Minotaur 4\u2019s fifth stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Track the major events during the Minotaur 4 rocket\u2019s 28-minute climb into a unique equatorial orbit with the ORS-5 space surveillance satellite for the U.S. military\u2019s Operationally Responsive Space office. Standing around eight stories tall, the five-stage rocket is set for liftoff during a four-hour launch window opening at 11:15 p.m. EDT Friday (0315 GMT) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2602,1608,1504,25,2898,3198,2167,1139],"class_list":["post-14383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-complex-46","tag-cubesats","tag-darpa","tag-launch","tag-lincoln-laboratory","tag-los-alamos-national-laboratory","tag-minotaur","tag-minotaur-4"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14383"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14383\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}