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Not surprising there isn’t a thread for this launcher as it isn’t exactly used that often. The next launch is for the NRO.
Check out these awesome photos of #NROL129! We're set to launch aboard a @northropgrumman #MinotaurIV rocket tomorrow from @NASA_Wallops
My 2 favorite pics from today's @NatReconOfc Minotaur IV launch with the first @SpaceForceDoD mission from @NASA_Wallops
The #MinotaurIV breaking the sound barrier and it sitting just as the sun started rising
LAUNCH UPDATE: Our #NROL111 mission launch is targeting NET June 15, between 6:30-11:30 a.m. EDT on a @northropgrumman #Minotaur rocket from @VCSFA_MARS Pad 0B at @NASA_Wallops. #VASpace @USSF_SMC : Photo Credit NASA Wallops
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.
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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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