January 23, 2026
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  • [ January 23, 2026 ] Eastern Range ready for same day fueling of Space Launch System, Vulcan rockets Mission Reports
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Minotaur

Mission Reports

Minotaur 4 launch timeline with the ORS-5 satellite

August 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

Track the major events during the Minotaur 4 rocket’s 28-minute climb into a unique equatorial orbit with the ORS-5 space surveillance satellite for the U.S. military’s Operationally Responsive Space office.

Mission Reports

Live coverage: Minotaur 4 rocket makes first launch from Cape Canaveral

August 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

An Orbital ATK Minotaur 4 rocket partially powered by modified motors from a Cold War-era nuclear missile lifted off early Saturday from Cape Canaveral with a small U.S. military satellite to help track other objects in space. The solid-fueled launcher took off at 2:04 a.m. EDT (0604 GMT) after a weather delay.

Mission Reports

Military satellite ready for launch aboard converted Cold War-era missile

August 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

A U.S. military satellite awaiting launch Friday night from Cape Canaveral is small enough to fit on a coffee table, but it will punch above its weight, scanning a region more than 20,000 miles above Earth to catalog spacecraft movements and space junk.

Mission Reports

Assembly complete for Minotaur launcher at Cape Canaveral

August 19, 2017 Stephen Clark

Using industrial cranes at a no-frills launch pad on the eastern tip of Cape Canaveral, a team of Orbital ATK and U.S. Air Force technicians have fully stacked a modified Cold War-era missile set for launch next week with a $49 million satellite built to track other objects in orbit.

Mission Reports

Build-up begins for first Minotaur rocket launch from Cape Canaveral

August 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

Ground crews at a long-dormant launch pad at Cape Canaveral are stacking surplus military missile motors for the Aug. 25 launch of a Minotaur 4 rocket with a satellite designed to track orbital traffic thousands of miles above Earth.

Mission Reports

Launch of military’s new space-based satellite tracker delayed to August

June 21, 2017 Stephen Clark

The launch from Cape Canaveral of a small U.S. military satellite built to track objects in geosynchronous orbit has been delayed from mid-July until August, an Air Force spokesperson said.

News

Minotaur rocket launch for NRO expected at Wallops by end of 2018

January 12, 2017 Stephen Clark

A classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite mission assigned last month to launch on an Orbital ATK Minotaur 1 rocket will take off from Wallops Island in Virginia by the end of 2018, a U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.

News

Minotaur rocket selected to launch military satellite in 2017

July 9, 2015 Stephen Clark

Cape Canaveral will get its first Minotaur rocket launch in 2017, when the solid-fueled booster will send up a U.S. Air Force space surveillance satellite under a contract with Orbital ATK.

Posts pagination

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News Headlines

  • Eastern Range ready for same day fueling of Space Launch System, Vulcan rockets
    January 23, 2026
  • SpaceX launches first West Coast Starlink mission of 2026
    January 21, 2026
  • SpaceX launches Sunday sunset Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral
    January 18, 2026
  • NRO, SpaceX launch reconnaissance satellites from Vandenberg
    January 16, 2026
  • Crew 11 safely splashes down after shortened mission
    January 15, 2026
  • NASA, SpaceX conduct ‘medical evacuation’ Crew-11 return to Earth
    January 14, 2026
  • SpaceX breaks pad turnaround record at Cape Canaveral with midday Starlink launch
    January 14, 2026
  • U.S. Space Force switches rockets for upcoming GPS satellite launch
    January 13, 2026
  • ISS gains new commander as Crew-11 prepares midweek departure
    January 13, 2026
  • SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
    January 12, 2026
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