Minotaur Launches

The above wasn’t apparently an image of this launch. This is the first image.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1403005763325284354
View: https://twitter.com/joroulette/status/1403005763325284354?s=19

This press release from NASA states there will be three payloads on the launch for the NRO.

www.nasa.gov

Watch the June 15 Minotaur 1 Launch from Wallops

Get up early June 15, grab a cup of coffee and watch the rise of Northrop Grumman’s Minotaur 1 rocket as it’s launched into space from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
www.nasa.gov www.nasa.gov
 
Thread for the USSF-261S-A launch with the EWS-I 1 satellite NET May 2025 aboard Minotaur IV

Space Systems Command Awards $45.5M Launch Service Order to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation for Prototype EWS Mission

May 25, 2023

The U.S. Space Force’s Small Launch and Targets Division’s Office at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, part of the Space Systems Command (SSC) Assured Access to Space organization, awarded a $45.5 million task order to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation on May 24 via an Orbital Services Program (OSP)-4 Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The contract will provide orbital launch services for the SSC Space Sensing Directorate’s latest spacecraft innovation, the Electro-Optical Infrared (EO/IR) Weather System (EWS) prototype, known as EWS Operational Demonstration-1, for a U.S. Space Force mission designated as USSF-261S-A. The EWS prototype will prove out new EO/IR sensor technology to provide operational quality data to the DoD weather community and inform development of a more cost-effective and proliferated operational architecture. Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation will accomplish one launch of its Minotaur IV rocket to deliver the prototype satellite to low earth orbit. The launch of EWS Operational Demonstration-1 on USSF-261S-A is planned for May 2025

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Northrop Grumman wins $45 million Space Force contract to launch small weather satellite

The company’s Minotaur 4 rocket will launch the Electro-Optical Infrared Weather System

May 25, 2023

Northrop Grumman won a $45.5 million contract to launch a small weather satellite in 2025, the U.S. Space Force announced May 25.

The company’s Minotaur 4 rocket will launch a payload called Electro-Optical Infrared (EO/IR) Weather System (EWS) prototype that will demonstrate commercial weather imaging technologies for military use. The launch contract was a task order awarded by the U.S. Space Force’s Orbital Services Program-4.

[...]

The EWS weather satellite is a prototype made by General Atomics that will go to low Earth orbit for a three-year demonstration. The mission was designated USSF-261S-A.

[...]
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EWS-I 1 Satellite
 
The U.S. Space Force’s Small Launch and Targets Division’s Office at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, part of Space Systems command’s (SSC) Assured Access to Space (AATS) organization, awarded a $29.9 million task order to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation on Sept. 30, 2022, for the Space Test Program (STP)-S29A launch service. This is the fourth task order under the Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. STP-S29A is a complex mission that will deliver technology demonstrations to orbit and contribute to future space system development. Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation’s Minotaur IV launch vehicle will deliver up to 200kg of STP cubesats, with specific payloads finalized during task order performance, to low earth orbit with a planned launch date in Sept. 2024.
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U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Lightsheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation (LARADO) instrument was successfully integrated and tested on the Space Test Program Satellite 7 (STPSat-7) spacecraft at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, on July 17, 2024.
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The spacecraft is scheduled for launch on a Department of Defense (DOD) STP sponsored flight out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, in September 2025, on a Minotaur IV launch vehicle.
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https://phys.org/news/2024-08-naval-laboratory-larado-instrument-lethal.html [Aug 30]
 
I wonder if the loss of OCO/GLORY encouraged Elon towards vertical integration (not vertical integration of an LV stack which is rare for SpaceX)

After failed space flights, NASA investigation leads to Portland

A NASA-led investigation into the catastrophic failure of two space flights has led to Portland and to the Northeast Portland operations of Sapa Extrusions, a large multi-national aluminum supplier. Last week, a former lab manager at Sapa pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud, admitting that...
www.oregonlive.com www.oregonlive.com

That company supplied defective fairing-separation parts to these guys
en.wikipedia.org

Ensign-Bickford Company - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

They still do work for Minotaur?
 
publiusr said:
I wonder if the loss of OCO/GLORY encouraged Elon towards vertical integration (not vertical integration of an LV stack which is rare for SpaceX)

After failed space flights, NASA investigation leads to Portland

A NASA-led investigation into the catastrophic failure of two space flights has led to Portland and to the Northeast Portland operations of Sapa Extrusions, a large multi-national aluminum supplier. Last week, a former lab manager at Sapa pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud, admitting that...
www.oregonlive.com www.oregonlive.com
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no, Falcon development and Musk's philosophies started in the early 2000's before this.
 
Yesterday, NRO Director Dr. Chris Scolese mentioned upcoming launches…bet you didn’t guess that meant 3 in 1 week!

GO NROL-192, NROL-174, & NROL-145! Stay tuned for more updates.

Watch Dr. Scolese's full remarks here: https://nro.gov/news-media-featured...ull-potential-of-cutting-edge-space-capabili/
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1910032516070732143
View: https://twitter.com/NatReconOfc/status/1910032516070732143

NRO Mission Page: https://www.nro.gov/Launches/launch-nrol-174/

NRO Press Kit: https://www.nro.gov/Portals/135/Doc...417_Press Kit book_Launch_NROL-174_4.9.25.pdf
Mentions "multiple payloads":
NROL-174 is a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) mission consisting of multiple national security payloads designed, built, and operated by the NRO.
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