For the first time in its 10-year flight history, the Minotaur IV rocket is preparing to make its inaugural launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, MARS, on Wallops Island, Virginia.<\/p>\n
The classified mission from the National Reconnaissance Office, known as NROL-129, is set to launch sometime within a launch window that opens at 09:00 EDT (13:00 UTC) on Wednesday, 15 July 2020. <\/p>\n
The rocket<\/b><\/p>\n
Overall, the Minotaur IV has a 10-year launch history spanning six missions to date, with next week\u2019s being the seventh. All missions have been successful, giving the rocket a coveted and undisputed 100% success rating.<\/p>\n
The mission will not only mark the first time a Minotaur IV flies from MARS but also the first time it will be used by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the first time it will fly a classified payload to orbit.<\/p>\n
At present, it has launch locations at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Kodiak Island, Alaska, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Virginia \u2014 making it one of the most versatile rockets in terms of launch locations in the U.S. fleet.<\/p>\n
The rocket itself is an expendable, all solid propellant vehicle derived from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It is overall part of a Minotaur family of launch vehicles and is the variant from which the Minotaur V is derived.<\/p>\n
Minotaur IV comes to MARS<\/b><\/p>\n
Space Technology (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n Preparation for Minotaur IV\u2019s first launch from MARS began in earnest in June with delivery of the propellant segments that will make up the vehicle. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n