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Dulles VA (SPX) Dec 15, 2006 Orbital Sciences Corporation has announced that it has been awarded a $27 million contract for two Minotaur IV launch vehicles by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missiles Systems (SMC) Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW). The SDTW organization responsible for this contract is the 3rd Space Test Squadron (3STS). The two new missions will be used to support the FALCON program, which is being carried out by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Minotaur IV rockets will launch DARPA's Hypersonic Test Vehicle (HTV) technology demonstration systems, HTV-2a and HTV-2b, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The Minotaur IV launch vehicles will deliver the HTVs to a precise point in space, after which the test vehicles will be separated to then autonomously carry out guided test flights at hypersonic velocities. This contract covers the second and third Minotaur IV launch vehicles to be awarded by SMC and represents the 19th and 20th orders placed for the Minotaur family of launch vehicles.
Orbital's Minotaur Product Line Orbital's Minotaur product line was developed under the U.S. Air Force's Orbital/Suborbital Program (OSP). The initial five-year OSP contract was competitively awarded to Orbital in 1997 and the company also won the follow-on 10-year OSP-2 contract in 2003. The Minotaur I and II launch vehicles were the original members of Orbital's Minotaur family of launch vehicles, which includes both space launch vehicles and long-range suborbital vehicles for missile defense and other specialized launch missions. There have been ten successful launches of Minotaur I and II vehicles to date. The Minotaur vehicles are specifically designed to be capable of launching from all U.S. spaceports, including government and commercial launch sites in Alaska, California, Florida and Virginia. Due to the minimal amount of specialized infrastructure that is required to support Minotaur launches, they can also be employed at other U.S. launch sites. The Minotaur IV space launch configuration combines Orbital's commercial launch vehicle technologies, including upper stage rocket motors, structures, avionics and other elements, with government-supplied lower-stage rocket motor stages to create responsive, reliable and low-cost launch systems for U.S. government sponsored payloads. The Minotaur IV incorporates a standard 92-inch fairing from Orbital's Taurus(TM) booster and supports dedicated or shared launch missions. Capable of boosting satellites weighing up to 3,800 lbs. into low-Earth orbit, the first Minotaur IV mission is currently under contract to launch the Space-Based Surveillance System (SBSS) satellite for the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in late 2008. Related Links Minotaur IV at Orbital Orbital Sciences Corporation Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com
Stringent Quality Check For GSLV Parts
New Delhi, India (PTI) Dec 08, 2006An expert committee probing the crash of a satellite launch vehicle on July 10 this year has recommended "very stringent" quality checks on the supplied components, Rajya Sabha was informed Friday. Minister of State in the Prime Minister Office, Prithviraj Chavan, said the explosion in Geo-Stationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV), which was to put INSAT-4C communication satellite into the orbit, resulted in a loss of Rs 256 crore. |
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