Minotaur IV
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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 Space Systems, and made its maiden flight on 22 April 2010, carrying the HTV-2a Hypersonic Test Vehicle.[4][5][6] The first orbital launch occurred on 26 September 2010 with the SBSS satellite for the United States Air Force.
Function | Expendable launch system |
---|---|
Manufacturer |
|
Cost per launch | $50 million [1] |
Size | |
Height | 23.88 metres (78.3 ft) |
Diameter | 2.34 metres (7 ft 8 in) |
Mass | 86,300 kg |
Stages | 4 |
Capacity | |
Payload to 200 km 28.5° LEO | |
Mass | IV: 1,591 kg (3,508 lb) IV+: 1,837 kg (4,050 lb)[2] |
Payload to 6600km S/O | |
Mass | IV Lite: 3,000 kilograms (6,600 lb)[2] |
Associated rockets | |
Family | Minotaur |
Derivative work | Minotaur V |
Launch history | |
Status | Active |
Launch sites | Vandenberg SFB, SLC-8 MARS, LP-0B PSCA, LP-1 CCSFS, SLC-46 |
Total launches | 7 |
Success(es) | 7 |
First flight | 22 April 2010 |
Last flight | 15 July 2020 |
First stage – SR-118 | |
Powered by | 1 Solid |
Maximum thrust | 2,224 kilonewtons (500,000 lbf)[2] |
Specific impulse | 229 s (2.25 km/s) (sea level)[3] |
Burn time | 56.6 seconds |
Propellant | HTPB |
Second stage – SR-119 | |
Powered by | 1 Solid |
Maximum thrust | 1,223 kilonewtons (275,000 lbf)[2] |
Specific impulse | 308 s (3.02 km/s)[3] |
Burn time | 61 seconds |
Propellant | HTPB |
Third stage – SR-120 | |
Powered by | 1 Solid |
Maximum thrust | 289 kilonewtons (65,000 lbf)[2] |
Specific impulse | 300 s (2.9 km/s)[3] |
Burn time | 72 seconds |
Propellant | NEPE |
Fourth stage (Minotaur IV) – Orion 38 | |
Powered by | 1 Solid |
Maximum thrust | 32.2 kilonewtons (7,200 lbf) |
Specific impulse | 288 s (2.82 km/s) |
Burn time | 67.7 seconds |
Propellant | HTPB |
Fourth stage (Minotaur IV+) – Star 48BV | |
Powered by | 1 Solid |
Maximum thrust | 68.6 kilonewtons (15,400 lbf) (average) |
Specific impulse | 288 s (2.82 km/s) |
Burn time | 84.1 seconds |
Propellant | HTPB |
The Minotaur IV vehicle consists of four stages and is capable of placing 1,591 kilograms (3,508 lb) of payload into a low Earth orbit (LEO).[2][7] It uses the first three stages of the Peacekeeper missile, combined with a new upper stage. On the baseline version, the fourth stage is an Orion 38. However a higher performance variant, designated Minotaur IV+, uses a Star 48BV instead. A three-stage configuration (no Orion 38), designated the Minotaur IV Lite, is available for suborbital trajectories. The Minotaur IV has also been flown with multiple upper stages. A five-stage derivative, the Minotaur V, made its maiden flight on 7 September 2013.
Minotaur IV launches are conducted from SLC-8 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, LP-0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, SLC-46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska Pad 1 of the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA).