Photos: Minotaur-C rocket lifts off from California’s Central Coast

Orbital ATK’s Minotaur-C rocket delivered 10 satellites to orbit Oct. 31 after liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, marking the solid-fueled rocket’s return to flight — with a new name and upgrades — after a six-year hiatus.

The four-stage rocket lifted off at 2:37 p.m. PDT (5:37 p.m. EDT: 2137 GMT) on Oct. 31 from pad 576E at Vandenberg, a military facility on the Pacific coast northwest of Los Angeles.

It carried 10 small commercial Earth-imaging satellites for Planet, a company based in San Francisco that now operates some 200 spacecraft in orbit.

Read our full story for details on the mission.

Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ian Dudley
Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: Orbital ATK
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now
Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now
Credit: Orbital ATK

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.