Latest Minotaur Stories

NASA A new NASA-developed, laser-based space communication system will enable higher rates of satellite communications similar in capability to high-speed fiber optic networks on Earth. The space terminal for the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), NASA's first high-data-rate laser communication system, was recently integrated onto the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. LLCD will demonstrate...

Engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., have installed the third and final science instrument that will fly onboard NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE). LADEE is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the lunar atmosphere, conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust. "The installation of the final science instrument to LADEE’s flight structure in the clean room at...

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y., Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- When ancient Greek travelers returned home from Crete, whose citizens worshipped a god in the form of a bull and whose priest wore a bull costume during rituals, they garbled the facts and came up with the story of the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull who devoured human children. Their inaccurate retelling of Minoan beliefs gave the world one of its most popular myths. Now, Tracy Barrett, a specialist in historical fiction set in the ancient...

The Naval Research Laboratory's Tactical Satellite IV (TacSat-4) is scheduled to launch from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation's Kodiak Launch Complex, Tuesday, September 27, 2011, aboard an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur-IV+ launch vehicle. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored the development of the payload and the first year of operations. The Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office funded the launch which is managed by the Space Development and Test Directorate (SD), a...

VANDENBERG AFB, Calif., Aug. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TASC, Inc. provided independent mission assurance, launch site and engineering support for the August 11 launch of a Minotaur IV Lite launch vehicle. The rocket carried DARPA's Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV-2), which is believed to be the fastest vehicle ever flown from the ground, achieving Mach 20 speeds. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100524/PH08918LOGO ) "These launches support some of our most advanced...

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TASC, Inc. provided independent mission assurance for the successful June 29 launch of a Minotaur I rocket from NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia, carrying the ORS-1 space vehicle. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100524/PH08918LOGO ) "This launch deploys a key capability that was urgently needed by U.S. Central Command," says Pat Talty, senior vice president of Mission Engineering at TASC. "It is the culmination...

CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) the prime contractor for the ORS-1 satellite, announced today that the satellite, built under contract to the U.S. Air Force, was successfully launched from Wallops Island Flight Facility at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport aboard an Orbital Sciences Minotaur 1 rocket. After insertion into the correct orbit the satellite will complete on-orbit checkout before transitioning to operational status. ORS-1 is the...

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va., June 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A U.S. Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket carrying the Department of Defense's Operationally Responsive Space office's ORS-1 satellite is scheduled for launch June 28 from NASA's Launch Range at the Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) ORS-1 is the Operationally Responsive Space Office's first operational satellite. Rapidly developing...

CHANTILLY, Va., Feb. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TASC, Inc. provided independent mission assurance, Minotaur I booster processing and day-of-launch support for the successful February 6 launch of a National Reconnaissance Office payload from Vandenberg AFB, CA. The Minotaur I launch is the 20th successful launch for the Minotaur family of launch vehicles, developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and supported by TASC. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100524/PH08918LOGO ) "We are...

CHANTILLY, Va., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Air Force successfully launched on September 25 a Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) satellite into its initial low earth orbit, with support from TASC's Rocket Systems Launch Program team. The launch was the second utilizing the Minotaur IV launch vehicle, which has allowed the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Space Development and Test Wing to increase significantly its capability to deliver larger payloads to orbit. The...