WASHINGTON — A Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket efficiently launched a number of labeled payloads for the U.S. Nationwide Reconnaissance Workplace (NRO) on April 16, marking a return to Vandenberg Area Power Base for the solid-fueled launch car after greater than a decade.
The mission, designated NROL-174, lifted off at 3:33 p.m. Jap from Area Launch Complicated 8 (SLC-8) at Vandenberg, California. The NRO confirmed shortly after liftoff that the launch was profitable however didn’t present particulars in regards to the payloads.
The Nationwide Reconnaissance Workplace builds and operates U.S. spy satellites, and supplies intelligence knowledge to the Division of Protection, intelligence companies and policymakers.
This launch was the primary time since 2011 {that a} Minotaur rocket has flown an NRO mission from Vandenberg. The earlier Vandenberg-based NRO launch utilizing a Minotaur was NROL-66.
NROL-174 is the third mission launched as a part of the Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 (OSP-3), which is managed by the U.S. Area Power’s Rocket Programs Launch Program (RSLP). This system is designed to present the federal government versatile entry to house by shopping for rides on smaller rockets just like the Minotaur IV.
The Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 is a contract car that permits the Area Power to obtain small- and medium-class launch providers, principally for know-how demonstrations, experimental payloads, and operational methods on brief discover.
The Minotaur IV is a four-stage car derived partially from decommissioned Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. The primary three levels are government-furnished Peacekeeper strong rocket motors, whereas the higher stage is a business Orion strong motor constructed by Northrop Grumman.
The rocket can carry as much as 1,730 kilograms (3,814 kilos) to low Earth orbit and first flew in 2010. Since then, it has launched from a number of areas throughout the U.S., together with Wallops Island in Virginia, Kodiak Island in Alaska, Cape Canaveral in Florida, and Vandenberg in California.
NROL-174 follows earlier NRO missions flown on Minotaur rockets—NROL-129 in 2020 and NROL-111 in 2021—each launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
