Minotaur-C

Minotaur-C (Taurus)

Minotaur-C launching its return-to-flight in 2017
Function	Orbital launch vehicle
Manufacturer	Orbital Sciences, Orbital ATK, Northrop Grumman
Country of origin	United States
Cost per launch	US$40−50 million [1]
Size
Height	27.9 m (92 ft)[citation needed]
Diameter	2.35 m (7 ft 9 in)[citation needed]
Mass	73,000 kg (161,000 lb)[citation needed]
Stages	4
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass	1,458 kg (3,214 lb)
Payload to SSO
Mass	1,054 kg (2,324 lb)
Launch history
Status	Active
Launch sites	Vandenberg, SLC-576E
Total launches	10
Success(es)	7
Failure(s)	3
First flight	13 March 1994, 22:32 UTC USA 101 / USA 102
Last flight	31 October 2017, 21:37 UTC
First stage – Castor 120
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	1,606.6 kN (361,200 lbf)
Specific impulse	286 s (2.80 km/s)
Burn time	83 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Second stage – Taurus-1
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	484.9 kN (109,000 lbf)
Specific impulse	285 s (2.79 km/s)
Burn time	73 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Third stage – Pegasus-2
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	118.2 kN (26,600 lbf)
Specific impulse	292 s (2.86 km/s)
Burn time	73 seconds
Propellant	Solid
Fourth stage – Pegasus-3
Powered by	1 Solid
Maximum thrust	34.57 kN (7,770 lbf)
Specific impulse	293 s (2.87 km/s)
Burn time	65 seconds
Propellant	Solid
[edit on Wikidata]

Minotaur-C (Minotaur Commercial), formerly known as Taurus^[1] or Taurus XL, is a four stage solid fueled launch vehicle built in the United States by Orbital Sciences (now Northrop Grumman) and launched from SLC-576E at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. It is based on the air-launched Pegasus rocket from the same manufacturer, utilizing a "zeroth stage" in place of an airplane. The Minotaur-C is able to carry a maximum payload of around 1458 kg into a low Earth orbit (LEO).^[2]

First launched in 1994, it has successfully completed seven out of a total of ten military and commercial missions.^[3] Three of four launches between 2001 and 2011 ended in failure, including the 24 February 2009 launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory mission^[4] and the 4 March 2011 launch of the Glory mission,^[5] which resulted in losses totalling US$700 million for NASA (excluding the cost of the rockets themselves).^[6][7] The Taurus launch vehicle was subsequently rebranded in 2014 as Minotaur-C,^[8] which incorporates new avionics based on those used by the Minotaur family of rockets.^[1][3] After a six years pause, the rocket successfully returned to flight in 2017 as Minotaur-C.