Minotaur-3/-4/-5/-6 (OSP-2 Peacekeeper SLV)

Minotaur-3 [OSC] (artist impression)

Minotaur-4 (SBSS 1) [OSC]

Minotaur-5 (LADEE) [NASA]

Minotaur-6 [OSC] (artist impression)

The most recent addition to Orbital's line of space launch vehicles, the Minotaur-4 (a.k.a. OSP-2 Peacekeeper SLV) combines elements of government-furnished decommissioned Peacekeeper missiles with technologies from our proven Pegasus, Taurus and OSP Minotaur boosters. The vehicle consists of three Peacekeeper solid rocket stages, a commercial Orion-38 or a Star-48BV fourth stage motor and subsystems derived from established space launch boosters. Under a 10-year contract with the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Orbital will develop and operate the low-cost Minotaur-4 vehicle to launch U.S. government-funded satellites into low-Earth orbit.

The Minotaur-4 incorporates a standard 92-inch fairing from the Taurus booster and supports dedicated or shared launch missions. Capable of boosting payloads more than 1,750 kg into orbit, the vehicle is compatible with multiple U.S. government and commercial launch sites. The Minotaur-4 is designed to provide 18-month mission response including payload integration and launch by Orbital's experienced launch crews.

The Minotaur-5 is a version of the Minotaur-4, which features an additional upper stage for high-energy orbits like geostationary transfer orbits or interplanetary trajectories.

The Minotaur-6 is a Minotaur-4+ stretched by another SR-118 first stage.

The Minotaur-3 suborbital launch vehicle provides the ability to deliver payloads up to 3000 kg on long range, suborbital trajectories for various U.S. Government-sponsored applications. It utilizes residual Peacekeeper solid rocket motors combined with Orbital's commercial launch vehicle technologies. The Minotaur III is designed to be adaptable to a variety of potential payloads. A mono-propellant hydrazine propulsion fourth stage called Super-HAPS provides precision trajectory control to support the high-accuracy delivery of target or reentry systems for technology demonstration. Multiple adapters and separation systems enable a variety of options for payloads.

→ complete list of all Peacekeeper / Castor-120 based rockets