Minotaur IV
Overview
Under 10-year contract with the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), Orbital provides the Minotaur IV-derived Space Launch Vehicle (PK SLV). The Minotaur IV SLV leverages flight-proven Minotaur, Pegasus ® , and Taurus ® space launch vehicle subsystems to provide an extremely cost-effective and capable space launch vehicle.
Three government-furnished Minotaur IV solid rocket stages along with a commercial Orion 38 provide an unmatched mix of value and performance. The combination of decommissioned ICBMs with commercial boosters and hardware is one of Orbital’s strengths, as demonstrated with the use of the Minotaur IV Stage 1 motor on Taurus and the first two stages of Minuteman II on the OSP Minotaur SLV.
For the Minotaur IV SLV, avionics and attitude control subsystems mount to a toroidal bulkhead based on the Taurus flight-proven design. The avionics and flight software are common with our Minotaur SLV and Target Launch Vehicle, while the Attitude Control System (ACS) tanks and cold-gas thrusters are existing, flight-proven Taurus designs.
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