Minotaur-4 rocket
Posted on 01/04/2010 9:14:29 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The U.S. Air Force will contract to have its Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system satellite placed into storage due to continued technical difficulties with the Minotaur 4 rocket that have delayed the spacecraft’s launch indefinitely, according to government documents.
The Minotaur 4 rocket, built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., and based in part on excess missile motors, was originally planned to debut in October 2009 with the SBSS launch. But the Air Force issued a statement that month saying the rocket had problems and would remain grounded indefinitely, though no further explanation was given.
In a solicitation posted Dec. 22 on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site, the Air Force stated it plans to issue a new contract to store the SBSS satellite and prepare it for launch when the rocket problems are resolved. The posting also said the estimated launch date had slipped to December 2010.
Responding to a Dec. 28 request for a further explanation of the first Minotaur 4’s delay, Air Force spokeswoman LaGina Jackson said the service would be unable to provide more detailed information by press time. On Dec. 29, the service revised the Dec. 22 posting to say that the SBSS launch date is “unknown pending the availability of the launch vehicle.”
(Excerpt) Read more at spacenews.com ...
Minotaur-4 rocket
That would make spare parts for sat launches a bit of a problem. The rocket is already tested decades ago. IMO
Minotaurs are recycled Peacekeeper ICBM’s. I thought they were pretty reliable.
Shoulda kept them in the silos I guess.
This seems like a pretty obvious example of the difference btwn GWB and Bommie the Commie. Store the new technology vs. make the new technology work!
"...Minotaur 4, built by Orbital Sciences Corp., is the newest in the series of hybrid boosters. The four-stage booster designed to lift heavier payloads than earlier Minotaur versions will use decommissioned Peacekeeper missile motors combined with parts from Orbital's Pegasus rocket."
"But engineers determined that the government-furnished Peacekeeper stage 3 motor steering system system's exhaust "produced unintended forces, which would cause issues in flight for the Minotaur 4 configuration."
"Air Force officials said that both hardware and software modifications are in development "to minimize the input of the Stage 3 forces on the overall vehicle."
"Along with the Air Force, three contractors - Orbital Sciences Corporation, ATK, and Northrop Grumman - will work to develop the fixes needed for the flight."
"The issue was highlighted following the discovery of a similar issue on another program, which wasn't identified by the Air Force."
"The impacts to the manifest are still under evaluation, officials said, but the launch isn't believed to occur until 2010."
Hit a bug in the butt at 5000 miles...
Sad, isn’t it? Bringing back the Saturn V is about the same excersise in futility as bringing back the barrel makers of the Iowa-class battleships.
This seems like a pretty obvious example of the difference btwn GWB and Bommie the Commie. Store the new technology vs. make the new technology work!
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You hit it on the head.
Would this have created problems for the Minotaur in its original purpose?
The Minotaurs use technology of other rockets.Minotaur-4 combines elements of government-furnished decommissioned Peacekeeper missiles with technologies from our proven Pegasus, Taurus and OSP Minotaur boosters.
not a good sign for Orbital Sciences Corp
The primary SBSS contractor was Boeing
I used to work for the SBSS program and glad that it was not Boeing that caused the delay. Although it’s unexpected that the launch vehicle is the problem though given the technical readiness level. Boeing is so behind the rest of the other competitors w/in the industry and this would be bad for them though.
They’re reliable, but they keep trying to dump the payload on Moscow, no matter how the missile is programmed.
Yeah, but they could fix that quickly.....LOL
I'm not qualified to say but the components performed well in their previous missions. Their new configuration needs some tweaking. Nobody likes a last minute glitch but the alternative would be a spiraling rocket putting an expensive payload in the ocean.
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