Minotaur IV
ActiveOrbital ATK (OA)
Sept. 26, 2010
Description
The Minotaur IV launch system is derived from the Peacekeeper ICBM. The first three stages are taken directly from decommissioned Peacekeeper missiles. A fourth stage, the Orion-38, is taken from the Pegasus family of air-launched rockets.
Specifications
-
Stages
4 -
Length
23.9 m -
Diameter
2.35 m -
Fairing Diameter
― -
Launch Mass
86.0 T -
Thrust
2200.0 kN -
Apogee (Sub-Orbital)
500.0 km
Family
-
Name
Minotaur IV -
Family
― -
Variant
― -
Alias
Peacekeeper SLV -
Full Name
Minotaur IV
Payload Capacity
-
Launch Cost
― -
Low Earth Orbit
1735.0 kg -
Geostationary Transfer
Orbit
― -
Direct Geostationary
― -
Sun-Synchronous Capacity
―
Orbital ATK
Commercial
President: David W. Thompson
OA 2015Orbital ATK Inc. was an American aerospace manufacturer and defense industry company. It was formed in 2015 from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alliant Techsystems. Orbital ATK was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018.
Upcoming Spaceflights
Minotaur IV | STP-S29A
Orbital ATK | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD February, 2026
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
STP-S29A is a mission under the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Test Program (STP) that will deliver technology demonstrations to orbit and contribute to future space system development, with this launch delivering up to 200 kg of STP cubesats to Low Earth Orbit. The main payload will be STPSat-7, an ESPA class satellite based on the Aegis Aerospace M-1 satellite bus used on the STPSat-4 mission for hosting research and technology demonstration payloads for the Department of Defense (DoD). One of the payload is U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Lightsheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation (LARADO) instrument, used to detect and characterize lethal non-trackable orbital debris with lasers in orbit.
Low Earth OrbitMinotaur IV | EWS OD-1
Orbital ATK | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
TBD December, 2026
Status: To Be Determined
Mission:
The Electro-Optical/Infrared Weather System (EWS) Operational Demonstration-1 (OD-1) is a weather satellite for the United States Space Force. It is a prototype satellite made by General Atomics that will be place in LEO for a three-year demonstration mission of new EO/IR sensor technologies to various US military branches, and to act as a stop-gap for Defense Department needs for weather data.
Sun-Synchronous OrbitMinotaur IV | NROL-174
Orbital ATK | United States of AmericaVandenberg SFB, CA, USA
April 16, 2025, 7:33 p.m.
Minotaur IV | NROL-129
Orbital ATK | United States of AmericaWallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
July 15, 2020, 1:46 p.m.
Minotaur IV | ORS-5
Orbital ATK | United States of AmericaCape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Aug. 26, 2017, 6:04 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
Also known as SensorSat, the Operationally Responsive Space 5 (ORS-5) will perform surveillance on geostationary (GEO) satellites. The craft will provide a stopgap for the existing space based surveillance system (SBSS), since full replacements are not expected until after 2020. With a mass of approximately 100kg the solar powered craft will operate in low earth orbit at an altitude of 600km.
Low Earth OrbitFalcon 9
Starlink Group 10-51
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USAA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Kinetica 1
Chutian-2 01 & 02
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China2 satellites built by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) for testing operations of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) satellites f…
Long March 11
Shiyan 32 01-03
Oriental Spaceport mobile launch ship - Sea Launch3 Chinese satellites reported to be for "orbital technological testing" purposes. Actual usage not known.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 11-14
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USAA batch of 28 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Falcon 9
Starlink Group 6-81
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USAA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
