The Minotaur III, also known as OSP-2 Target Launch Vehicle, Peacekeeper TLV or OSP-2 TLV is an American rocket derived from the

LGM-118 Peacekeeper The LGM-118 Peacekeeper, originally known as the MX for "Missile, Experimental", was a MIRV-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) produced and deployed by the United States from 1985 to 2005. The missile could carry up to twelve Mark ...

missile. It is a member of the

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

family of rockets produced by

Orbital Sciences Corporation Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other governmen ...

, and is used for long range

suborbital A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital r ...

launches with heavy payloads. Minotaur III rockets consist of four stages; the SR-118 first stage, SR-119 second stage and SR-120 third stage of a decommissioned Peacekeeper missile, with a Super-HAPS fourth stage, derived from the

HAPS Haps is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the former municipality of Cuijk, about south of the town of Cuijk. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Land van Cuijk. History The village was firs ...

stage used on

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

and

Minotaur I The Minotaur I, or just Minotaur is an American expendable launch system derived from the Minuteman II missile. It is used to launch small satellites for the US Government, and is a member of the Minotaur family of rockets produced by Orbital Sci ...

rockets. The Minotaur III is capable of launching a payload downrange on a

trajectory. Minotaur III launches will be conducted from

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in K ...

and the Kodiak Launch Complex.

References

* * * * Minotaur (rocket family) {{rocket-stub