Space Surveillance

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

August 25, 2017

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.

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

August 25, 2017

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.

Assembly complete for Minotaur launcher at Cape Canaveral

August 19, 2017

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.

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

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

Assembly complete for Minotaur launcher at Cape Canaveral

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

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

Minotaur rocket selected to launch military satellite in 2017