Minotaur (rocket family)

Minotaur-C (Taurus)

The Taurus launch vehicle, later renamed[1] Minotaur-C (for "Minotaur-Commercial"), was the first of the Minotaur family and the first ground-launched orbital booster developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC). It was derived by adding a solid booster stage to the air-launched Pegasus rocket.

The first flight, sponsored by DARPA, occurred in 1994. Following a series of failures between 2001 and 2011, the vehicle was rebranded as Minotaur-C in 2014. Due to restrictions on the commercial use of government-furnished hardware, Minotaur-C is the only Minotaur vehicle available for commercial launches.

Minotaur I

The original Minotaur launch vehicle consists of an M55A1 first stage, SR19 second stage, Orion 50XL third stage, Orion 38 fourth stage, and an optional HAPS fifth stage for velocity trimming and multiple payload deployment. It can deliver 580 kg to a 185 km orbit at 28.5° inclination from Cape Canaveral, or 310 kg to a 740 km Sun-synchronous orbit from Vandenberg.[2]

Minotaur II

The Minotaur II is a suborbital target vehicle derived from the Minuteman II missile, incorporating Orbital guidance and control systems. It consists of an M55A1 first stage, SR19 second stage, and M57 third stage, and can carry a payload of 460 kg on a 6700 km suborbital trajectory.[2]

Minotaur III

The Minotaur III was a proposed suborbital target vehicle consisting of an SR118 first stage, SR119 second stage, SR120 third stage, and Super HAPS fourth stage. It was designed to carry 3060 kg on a 6700 km suborbital trajectory.[2] Development was cancelled and the vehicle was never flown.

Minotaur IV

The Minotaur IV combines decommissioned Peacekeeper solid rocket motors with technologies from other Orbital-built launch vehicles, including Minotaur I, Pegasus, and Taurus. It consists of an SR118 first stage, SR119 second stage, SR120 third stage, and Orion 38 fourth stage. It can deliver 1735 kg to a 185 km orbit at 28.5° inclination from Cape Canaveral.

The first launch occurred on April 22, 2010, from Vandenberg in California.[3] The vehicle has also been used in support of the U.S. Air Force's Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) program.

Minotaur V

The Minotaur V is a five-stage variant based on the Minotaur IV+, incorporating an additional upper stage for missions to geostationary transfer orbit, lunar trajectories, and interplanetary destinations.

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) was launched on the first Minotaur V from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 03:27 UTC on September 7, 2013. The vehicle placed LADEE into a highly elliptical orbit to enable phasing for lunar transfer.[4]

Minotaur VI

The Minotaur VI is a proposed five-stage launch vehicle developed by Northrop Grumman that, as of 2025, has not flown. It is based on the Minotaur IV+, with the addition of a second SR-118 first stage to increase performance.[5] An enhanced variant, Minotaur VI+, is also proposed for beyond low Earth orbit missions, incorporating an additional Star 37FM sixth stage. This configuration is projected to deliver up to 300 kg to Mars.

Rocket configurations

Launch sites

Launch outcomes

1994

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |1 22:32

• -

• -

• March 13, 1994

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• STEP Mission 0 and DARPASAT
• USAF/DARPA[6][7]
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

1998

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |2 13:20 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |3 10:04

• -

• -

• February 10, 1998

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• GFO and Orbcomm (satellites 11,12)
• Success
• -

• October 3, 1998

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• Space Technology Experiment (STEX)
• NRO
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

1999

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |4 07:13

• -

• -

• December 21, 1999

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• KOMPSAT and ACRIMSAT
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2000

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |5 03:03:06 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |6 09:29 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |7 20:00 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |8 20:09:00

• -

• -

• January 27, 2000

• Minotaur I
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• JAWSat (P98-1) (FalconSat1 / ASUSat1 / OCSE / OPAL)
• LEO
• Success
• -

• March 12, 2000

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI)
• Success
• -

• May 28, 2000

• Minotaur II
• Vandenberg, LF-06
• OSP-TLV Missile Defense Technology Demonstrator
• Suborbital
• Success
• -

• July 19, 2000

• Minotaur I
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• MightySat II.1 (Sindri, P99-1) / MEMS 2A / MEMS 2B
• LEO
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2001

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |9 18:49 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |10 04:59

• -

• -

• September 21, 2001

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• Orbview-4/QuikTOMS
• Failure
• -

• December 4, 2001

• Minotaur II
• Vandenberg, LF-06
• TLV-1 IFT-7 GMDS target mission
• Suborbital
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2002

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |11 02:11 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |12 02:01 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |13 08:26

• -

• -

• March 16, 2002

• Minotaur II
• Vandenberg, LF-06
• TLV-2 IFT-8 GMDS target mission
• Suborbital
• Success
• -

• October 15, 2002

• Minotaur II
• Vandenberg, LF-06
• TLV-3 GMDS target mission
• Suborbital
• Success
• -

• December 11, 2002

• Minotaur II
• Vandenberg, LF-06
• TLV-4 GMDS target mission
• Suborbital
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2004

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |14 17:47

• -

• -

• May 20, 2004

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• ROCSAT-2
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2005

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date / time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket, Configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |15 13:35:00 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |16 19:24:00

• -

• -

• April 11, 2005

• Minotaur I
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• XSS-11
• LEO
• Success
• -

• September 22, 2005

• Minotaur I
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• Streak (STP-R1)
• LEO
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2006

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |17 01:40:00 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |18 12:00

• -

• -

• April 15, 2006

• Minotaur I
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• COSMIC (FORMOSAT-3)
• LEO
• Success
• -

• December 16, 2006

• Minotaur I
• MARS, LP-0B
• TacSat-2 / GeneSat-1
• LEO
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2007

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |19 04:27 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |20 06:48 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |21 08:30

• -

• -

• March 21, 2007

• Minotaur II
• Vandenberg, LF-06
• TLV-5 FTX-02 SBR target mission
• Suborbital
• Success
• -

• April 24, 2007

• Minotaur I
• MARS, LP-0B
• NFIRE
• LEO
• Success
• -

• August 23, 2007

• Minotaur II+
• Vandenberg, LF-06
• TLV-7 Mission 2a sensor target for NFIRE satellite
• Suborbital
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2008

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |22 06:57

• -

• -

• September 24, 2008

• Minotaur II+
• Vandenberg, LF-06
• TLV-8 Mission 2b sensor target for NFIRE satellite
• Suborbital
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2009

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |23 09:55 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |24 23:55

• -

• -

• February 24, 2009

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• Orbiting Carbon Observatory[8]
• Failure
• -

• May 19, 2009

• Minotaur I
• MARS, LP-0B
• TacSat-3 / PharmaSat / AeroCube 3 / HawkSat I / CP6
• LEO
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2010

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |25 23:00 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |26 04:41 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |27 01:25

• -

• -

• April 22, 2010

• Minotaur IV Lite
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• HTV-2a hypersonic research spacecraft
• Suborbital
• Success
• -

• September 26, 2010

• Minotaur IV
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• SBSS
• SSO
• Success
• -

• November 20, 2010

• Minotaur IV HAPS
• Kodiak Island, LP-1
• STP-S26 (FASTRAC-A / FASTRAC-B / FalconSat-5 / FASTSAT / O/OREOS / RAX)
• LEO
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2011

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |28 12:26 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |29 10:09 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |30 03:09 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |31 14:45 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |32 15:49

• -

• -

• February 6, 2011

• Minotaur I
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• NROL-66
• LEO
• Success
• -

• March 4, 2011

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• Glory, KySat-1, Hermes, and Explorer-1 [PRIME]
• Failure[9]
• -

• June 30, 2011

• Minotaur I
• MARS, LP-0B
• ORS-1
• LEO
• Success
• -

• August 11, 2011

• Minotaur IV Lite
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2b)
• Suborbital
• Success
• -

• September 27, 2011

• Minotaur IV+
• Kodiak Island, LP-1
• TacSat-4
• MEO
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2013

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |33 03:27 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |34 01:15

• -

• -

• September 7, 2013

• Minotaur V
• MARS, LP-0B
• LADEE
• HEO
• Success
• -

• November 20, 2013

• Minotaur I
• MARS, LP-0B
• ORS-3 (STPSat-3 along with 28 additional cubesats)
• LEO
• Success[10][11]
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2017

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |35 06:04 ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |36 21:37

• -

• -

• August 26, 2017

• Minotaur IV
• Cape Canaveral, SLC-46
• ORS-5
• LEO
• Success
• -

• October 31, 2017

• Minotaur-C
• Vandenberg, SLC-576E
• SkySat × 6, Flock-3m × 4
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2020

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |37 13:46

• -

• -

• July 15, 2020

• Minotaur IV
• MARS, LP-0B
• NROL-129 (USA 305 to USA 308)[12]
• LEO
• NRO
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2021

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |38 13:35[13]

• -

• -

• June 15, 2021

• Minotaur I
• MARS, LP-0B
• NROL-111 (USA 316 to USA 318)[14]
• LEO
• NRO
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2022

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |39 06:01[15]

• -

• -

• July 7, 2022

• Minotaur II+
• Vandenberg, TP-01
• Mk21A reentry vehicle[16]
• Suborbital
• AFNWC
• Failure
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2024

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |40 07:01[17]

• -

• -

• June 18, 2024

• Minotaur I
• Vandenberg, TP-01
• Mk21A reentry vehicle[18]
• Suborbital
• AFNWC
• Success
• -
• colspan="8" style="background:white;" |

2025

! scope="col" | Flight No. ! scope="col" | Date and time (UTC) ! scope="col" | Rocket configuration ! scope="col" | Launch site ! scope="col" | Payload ! scope="col" | Orbit ! scope="col" | Customer ! scope="col" | Launch outcome ! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" |40

• -

• -

• 16 April 2025 19:33[19][20]
• Minotaur IV
• Vandenberg, SLC-8
• NROL-174
• LEO
• NRO
• Success
• }