17.04.2025

It was the first Minotaur launch from the Golden State since 2011.

A Minotaur IV rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base (now known as Vandenberg Space Force Base) on Sept. 25, 2010, carrying the Space-Based Space Surveillance satellite, a first-of-its-kind satellite that can detect and track orbiting space objects from space.  (Image credit: U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Andrew Lee)

For the first time in nearly a decade and a half, a Minotaur has streaked through Californian skies.

A Minotaur IV rocket lifted off from the Golden State's Vandenberg Space Force Base today (April 16) at 3:33 p.m. EDT (1633 GMT; 12:33 p.m. local California time), kicking off the NROL-174 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

It was the first launch of a Minotaur from the site since 2011, the NRO said via X.

The Minotaur rocket family, built by aerospace giant Northrop Grumman, consists of repurposed intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Minotaur IV is a four-stage vehicle that stands 78 feet (24 meters) tall.

A Minotaur IV hadn't flown since a July 2020 mission that launched from Virginia. But today, the rocket got back to work and did its job as planned.

"The NROL-174 Minotaur IV rocket was once a Peacekeeper ICBM that sat watch 24/7 in support of our nation's nuclear deterrent," NROL-174 Mission Director Laura Robinson, deputy director of the NRO Office of Space Launch, said in a post-launch statement.

"Now modified for space launch, it completed its final mission of placing a national security payload on orbit, a credit to the decades-long dedication of those who were part of the missile’s early development, maintenance and operations, and innovative conversion into the Minotaur IV rocket," Robinson added. "It was truly a team effort."

The NRO builds and operates the nation's fleet of spy satellites. The agency reveals few details about these craft and their capabilities, so it's no surprise that NROL-174 is shrouded in secrecy.

The NRO's press kit offers a vague explanation, saying the mission consists "of multiple national security payloads designed, built and operated by the NRO."

NROL-174 flew via the U.S. Space Force's Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP). According to the press kit, the RLSP "primarily launches more risk-tolerant experimental, research and development, responsive space and operational missions."

Quelle: SC

+++

Minotaur IV rocket launches spy payloads for National Reconnaissance Office

NROL-174 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base April 16, 2025. Credit: @NatReconOfc

WASHINGTON — A Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket successfully launched multiple classified payloads for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on April 16, marking a return to Vandenberg Space Force Base for the solid-fueled launch vehicle after more than a decade.

The mission, designated NROL-174, lifted off at 3:33 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex 8 (SLC-8) at Vandenberg, California. The NRO confirmed shortly after liftoff that the launch was successful but did not provide details about the payloads.

The National Reconnaissance Office builds and operates U.S. spy satellites, and provides intelligence data to the Department of Defense, intelligence agencies and policymakers.

This launch was the first time since 2011 that a Minotaur rocket has flown an NRO mission from Vandenberg. The previous Vandenberg-based NRO launch using a Minotaur was NROL-66.

NROL-174 is the third mission launched as part of the Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 (OSP-3), which is managed by the U.S. Space Force’s Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP). The program is designed to give the government flexible access to space by buying rides on smaller rockets like the Minotaur IV.

The Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 is a contract vehicle that allows the Space Force to procure small- and medium-class launch services, mostly for technology demonstrations, experimental payloads, and operational systems on short notice.

The Minotaur IV is a four-stage vehicle derived in part from decommissioned Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. The first three stages are government-furnished Peacekeeper solid rocket motors, while the upper stage is a commercial Orion solid motor built by Northrop Grumman.

The rocket can carry up to 1,730 kilograms (3,814 pounds) to low Earth orbit and first flew in 2010. Since then, it has launched from several locations across the U.S., including Wallops Island in Virginia, Kodiak Island in Alaska, Cape Canaveral in Florida, and Vandenberg in California.

NROL-174 follows previous NRO missions flown on Minotaur rockets—NROL-129 in 2020 and NROL-111 in 2021—both launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Quelle: SN