Minotaur VI

Minotaur VI
Function	Expendable launch system
Manufacturer	Northrop Grumman; Boeing; Lockheed Martin; Denver Aerospace;
Size
Height	34.49 m (113.2 ft)
Diameter	2.34 metres (7 ft 8 in)
Stages	5 or 6
Capacity
Payload to 200 km 28.5° LEO
Mass	VI: 3,144 kg (6,931 lb); VI+: 3,360 kg (7,410 lb)
Payload to GTO
Mass	VI+: 866 kilograms (1,909 lb)
Payload to TLI
Mass	VI+: 560 kilograms (1,230 lb)
Payload to Mars
Mass	VI+: 300 kilograms (660 lb)
Associated rockets
Family	Minotaur
Comparable	Delta II, Long March 2D
Launch history
Status	Proposed
Launch sites	PSCA, LP-1; CCSFS, SLC-46
Total launches	0
First stage – SR-118
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	2,224 kilonewtons (500,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	229 s (2.25 km/s) (sea level)
Burn time	56.6 seconds
Propellant	HTPB
Second stage – SR-118
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	2,224 kilonewtons (500,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	229 s (2.25 km/s) (sea level)
Burn time	56.6 seconds
Propellant	HTPB
Third stage – SR-119
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	1,223 kilonewtons (275,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	308 s (3.02 km/s)
Burn time	61 seconds
Propellant	HTPB
Fourth stage – SR-120
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	289 kilonewtons (65,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	300 s (2.9 km/s)
Burn time	72 seconds
Propellant	NEPE
Fifth stage – Star 48BV
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	68.6 kilonewtons (15,400 lbf) (average)
Specific impulse	288 s (2.82 km/s)
Burn time	84.1 seconds
Propellant	HTPB
Sixth stage (Minotaur VI+) – Star 37FM
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	47.26 kilonewtons (10,620 lbf) (average)
Specific impulse	289.8 s (2.842 km/s)
Burn time	63 seconds
Propellant	HTPB
	[edit on Wikidata]

Minotaur VI is a proposed expendable launch system derived from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It is a member of the Minotaur rocket family and a higher-performance derivative of the Minotaur IV. The base Minotaur VI consists of a Minotaur IV+ rocket with an additional SR118 first stage motor for improved performance. Minotaur VI is optimized for low Earth orbit (LEO) missions, and can send 3,144 kilograms (6,931 lb) to such an orbit. The Minotaur VI+ variant, however, features a Star 37FM sixth stage and is primarily intended for higher-energy missions.

The Minotaur VI and VI+ rockets are capable of launching from LP-1 at the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska as well as SLC-46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Other Minotaur launch complexes, including Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 8 and MARS LP-0B, are unable to launch the vehicle without modifications because of limited integration tower height.

As of May 2024, no Minotaur VI launches have been performed and none are currently scheduled.

Description

Minotaur VI was developed by Orbital Sciences (now owned by Northrop Grumman). Minotaur VI would be used for low Earth orbit and Sun-synchronous orbit missions. Minotaur VI+ is also available for high-energy trajectories such as geostationary transfer orbit or trans-lunar injection thanks to an additional sixth stage motor.

The Minotaur IV family (which includes Minotaur VI) is derived from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), deployed from 1985 until 2005. The Minotaur VI utilizes decommissioned Peacekeeper solid rocket motors, which compose the first three stages in all Minotaur IV rockets and derivatives. This relatively simple architecture allows Minotaur to be launched from essentially anywhere in the US through the use of mobile launch facilities - although this capability has never been needed.^[1] Because of its use of decommissioned ICBM components, Minotaur VI can only be used to launch US government missions.^[3]

Two payload fairing options are available for Minotaur VI. The standard fairing, which has so far flown on every Minotaur IV and V rocket, has a 92 inches (2,300 mm) diameter and is composed of graphite epoxy sheets with an aluminum honeycomb core. The fairing features one payload access door, although more can be added if requested by a customer. The 92-inch fairing was originally developed for the Taurus rocket. A second fairing option with a 110 inches (2,800 mm) diameter is offered for larger payloads.^[1]

On the Minotaur VI+, the Star 37 sixth stage is contained within the fairing.

Minotaur VI

The standard Minotaur VI rocket is composed of five stages. The first and second stage SR118 motors provide 2,224 kilonewtons (500,000 lb_f) of thrust during their back-to-back 56.6-second burns, followed by stage separation and third-stage ignition. The third stage, powered by an SR119 motor, burns for 61 seconds and provides an average thrust of 1,223 kilonewtons (275,000 lb_f). The fourth stage then burns for 72 seconds, with an average thrust of 289 kilonewtons (65,000 lb_f). The initial four stages all have thrust vector control, allowing them to steer the rocket downrange by gimballing the motor nozzles. The third and fourth stages also feature extendable nozzles, allowing for improved performance in the upper portions of Earth's atmosphere as well as the vacuum of space.^[1]^[4]

The Star 48BV fifth stage burns for 85.2 seconds with an average thrust of 68.63 kilonewtons (15,430 lb_f) and also features thrust vectoring, which is uncommon for Star 48 motors.^[1] The Star 48 motor has also seen use on the Atlas V, Delta IV, and Space Shuttle, alongside over 70 missions on the Delta II.

Minotaur VI is primarily intended for low Earth orbit missions, with a rated capacity of 3,144 kilograms (6,931 lb) to LEO and 2,400 kilograms (5,300 lb) to SSO.^[1]

Minotaur VI+

The Minotaur VI+ builds off the standard Minotaur VI by incorporating a Star 37FM sixth stage. This allows the VI+ variant to either send additional payload to LEO (up to 3,360 kilograms (7,410 lb)) or send smaller payloads onto higher-energy trajectories. The Star 37FM can fly either in a spin-stabilized configuration or in a three-axis controlled variant, although some performance is sacrificed on the latter configuration.^[1]

Minotaur VI+ can send up to 866 kilograms (1,909 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit, 560 kilograms (1,230 lb) to trans-lunar injection, and 300 kilograms (660 lb) to a trans-Mars injection.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Northrop Grumman (10 September 2020). "Minotaur IV, V, VI User's Guide" (PDF). northropgrumman.com. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c Blau, Patrick (2 February 2017). "Minotaur V Launch Vehicle" (PDF). spaceflight101.com. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
^ Krebs, Gunter. "Minotaur-3/-4/-5/-6 (OSP-2 Peacekeeper SLV)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
^ Krebs, Gunter. "Minotaur-6 (Minotaur VI, OSP-2 Peacekeeper SLV)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 28 May 2024.

[guide-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Northrop Grumman (10 September 2020). "Minotaur IV, V, VI User's Guide" (PDF). northropgrumman.com. Retrieved 14 May 2024.

[MinV-2] Blau, Patrick (2 February 2017). "Minotaur V Launch Vehicle" (PDF). spaceflight101.com. Retrieved 15 May 2024.

[gunter1-3] Krebs, Gunter. "Minotaur-3/-4/-5/-6 (OSP-2 Peacekeeper SLV)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 4 March 2009.

[gunter2-4] Krebs, Gunter. "Minotaur-6 (Minotaur VI, OSP-2 Peacekeeper SLV)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 28 May 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Orbital launch systems
List of orbital launch systems Comparison of orbital launch systems
Current	Angara 1.2 A5 Ariane 6 Atlas V Ceres 1 1S Chollima-1 Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Gravity-1 GSLV H-IIA H3 Hyperbola-1 Jielong 1 3 KAIROS^† Kaituozhe 2 Kinetica 1 Kuaizhou 1 1A 11 Long March 2C 2D 2F 3A 3B/E 3C 4B 4C 5 5B 6 6A 7 7A 8 11 11H LVM3 Minotaur I IV V C Nuri OS-M1^† Pegasus XL Proton-M PSLV Qaem 100 Qased RS1^† Shavit 2 Simorgh SLS Block 1 Soyuz-2 2.1a / STA 2.1b / STB 2-1v SSLV Starship Tianlong-2 Unha Vega C Vulcan Centaur Zhuque 2
In development	Antares 330 Bloostar Cyclone-4M Deca Epsilon S Eris Gravity-2 Hyperbola-2 Irtysh Kuaizhou 21 31 Long March 9 10 12 Miura 5 MLV Neutron New Glenn New Line 1 NGLV Nova OS-M 2 4 Orbex Prime Pallas-1 Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Soyuz-7 Terran R Tianlong-3 VLM Vega E Zero Zhuque 3 Zuljanah
Retired	Antares 110 120 130^† 230 230+ Ariane 1 2 3 4 5 ASLV Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able^† Agena Centaur Black Arrow Conestoga^† Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Diamant Dnepr Energia Epsilon Europa I^† II^† Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" Feng Bao 1 GSLV Mk I H-I H-II H-IIB Juno I Juno II Kaituozhe-1 Kosmos original 1 2/2I 3 3M Lambda 4S LauncherOne Long March 1 1D^† 2A 2E 3 3B 4A Mu 4S 3C 3H 3S 3SII V N1^† N-I N-II Naro-1 Paektusan^† Pilot-2^† R-7 Luna Molniya M L Polyot Soyuz original FG L M U U2 Soyuz/Vostok Sputnik Voskhod Vostok L K 2 2M R-29 Shtil' Volna^† Rocket 3 Safir 1 1A 1B Saturn I IB V Scout X-1 Blue Scout II^† X-2^† X-2M X-3 X-3M X-4 X-2B^† B A B-1 D-1 A-1 E-1 F-1 G-1 Shavit original 1 SLV Space Shuttle SPARK^† Sparta SS-520 Start-1 Terran 1^† Thor Able Ablestar 1 2 Agena A B D Burner 1 2 Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena SLV-2G SLV-2H Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Tsyklon R-36-O original 2 3 Universal Rocket UR-500 Proton Proton-K Rokot Strela Vanguard Vega original VLS-1^† Zenit 2 2M 2FG 3SL 3SLB 3F Zhuque 1^†
Classes	Sounding rocket Small-lift launch vehicle Medium-lift launch vehicle Heavy-lift launch vehicle Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
This Template lists historical, current, and future space rockets that at least once attempted (but not necessarily succeeded in) an orbital launch or that are planned to attempt such a launch in the future Symbol ^† indicates past or current rockets that attempted orbital launches but never succeeded (never did or has yet to perform a successful orbital launch)

v t e Orbital launch systems developed in the United States
Active	Atlas V**^†† Electron Falcon 9 Block 5 Falcon Heavy Firefly Alpha Minotaur I IV V C Pegasus XL RS1^† SLS Block 1 Vulcan Centaur
In development	Antares 330 Daytona I MLV New Glenn Neutron Nova Red Dwarf SLS Block 1B Block 2 Starship Terran R
Retired	Antares 110/120/130/230/230+^††† Athena I II Atlas B D E/F G H I II III LV-3B SLV-3 Able Agena Centaur Conestoga Delta A B C D E G J L M N 0100 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 II III IV IV Heavy Falcon 1 Falcon 9 v1.0 v1.1 v1.2 "Full Thrust" H-I* Juno I Juno II LauncherOne N-I* N-II* Pilot Rocket 3 Saturn I IB V Scout Space Shuttle SPARK Sparta Terran 1 Thor Able Ablestar Agena Burner Delta DSV-2U Thorad-Agena Titan II GLV IIIA IIIB IIIC IIID IIIE 34D 23G CT-3 IV Vanguard
* - Japanese projects using US rockets or stages ** - uses Russian engines ^† - never succeeded ^†† - no new orders accepted ^††† - used Ukrainian first stage

Description

Minotaur VI

Minotaur VI+

See also

References