Vandenberg; Minotaur Set for Liftoff Tuesday Morning

It was one of two launches set to occur within 12 hours from Vandenberg, where Northrop Grumman’s Minotaur IV is scheduled to launch military and other payloads Tuesday morning. That mission from Space Launch Complex-8 is set to occur between 4:30 p.m. and 8:45 a.m.

SLC-8 currently is the most southern active launch facility at Vandenberg. It’s not visible from Ocean Avenue, Vandenberg Village or other off-base viewing sites.

The fourth and final stage of a Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket is secured at Space Launch Complex 8 at Vandenberg Space Force Base last month. Senior Airman Kevin Hernandez / U.S. Space Force photo

Minotaur will carry the Space Test Program (STP)-S29A mission made up of a variety of Department of Defense, U.S. Space Force and academic institution payloads, including: STPSat-7, Auburn University‘s ASTRA-HyRAX, Texas A&M University‘s AggieSat6, in addition to others. 

Employing three stages furnished by the government from retired Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles and a new commercial upper stage, the Minotaur IV carries smaller government payloads, up to 3,800 pounds, into space. 

It’s an expendable rocket, so no landing is planned. The spent stages will be ditched in the ocean.

There’s no word of a webcast for this mission. SLC-8’s location means the rocket can’t be seen sitting on the launch pad. 

Meanwhile, Monday’s launch of the Falcon rocket, much bigger than Minotaur, was the inaugural mission for the brand-new booster, carrying a cargo of 25 Starlink satellites. 

Quelle: Noozhawk