The Minotaur V is an American expendable launch system derived from the

Minotaur IV Minotaur IV, also known as Peacekeeper SLV and OSP-2 PK is an active expendable launch system derived from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It is operated by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, and made its maiden flight on 22 April 2010, carry ...

, itself a derivative of 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 ...

ICBM. It was developed 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 ...

, (now absorbed into Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) and made its maiden flight on 7 September 2013 carrying the

Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE; ) was a NASA lunar exploration and technology demonstration mission. It was launched on a Minotaur V rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on September 7, 2013. During its se ...

spacecraft for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Design

The Minotaur V is a five-stage vehicle, and is designed to place up to of payload into a

geosynchronous transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into a GTO as an intermediate step f ...

, or on a trans-lunar trajectory. It consists of a Minotaur IV+, with a

Star-37 The Star is a family of US solid-propellant rocket motors originally developed by Thiokol and used by many space propulsion and launch vehicle stages. They are used almost exclusively as an upper stage, often as an apogee kick motor. Three Star 3 ...

as a fifth stage. Two variants are available, one with a spin-stabilized Star-37FM upper stage, and the other with a Star-37FMV capable of

three-axis stabilization Spacecraft attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of a spacecraft (vehicle/satellite) with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, et ...

. The Star-37FMV upper stage is heavier, reducing payload capacity, but is more maneuverable.

Launch pads

Space Launch Complex 8 at the

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 ...

, Pad 0B at the

Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) is a commercial space launch facility located at the southern tip of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island in Virginia, just east of the Delmarva Peninsula and south of Chincoteague, Virgin ...

(MARS), and Pad 1 of the Kodiak Launch Complex are all capable of accommodating the Minotaur V. , all scheduled launches are from MARS.

Launch history

The initial launch of a Minotaur V occurred on 7 September 2013 at 03:27 UTC from Launch Pad 0B at the

in Virginia. The payload for the maiden flight was the

LADEE The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE; ) was a NASA lunar exploration and technology demonstration mission. It was launched on a Minotaur V rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on September 7, 2013. During its se ...

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

exoatmosphere science spacecraft. While now separated from the LADEE spacecraft, both the fourth and fifth stages of the Minotaur V reached orbit, and are now derelict satellites in

Earth orbit Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of 149.60 million km (92.96 million mi) in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above the Northern Hemisphere. One complete orbit takes days (1 sidereal year), during which time Earth ...

References

{{US launch systems Minotaur (rocket family)