The desire for reliable,

SMC's Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW) Rocket System Launch Program (RSLP) has been providing reliable, economical launch services for government payloads since the 1970's based on the use retired and surplus operational rocket motors and subsystems. The SDTW is the Air Force's center for development, test and evaluation of space systems. As part of the SDTW's Space Test Group, the Launch Test Squadron (LTS) is tasked with providing low cost access to space in support of the wings mission. In particular, the LTS executes the RSLP, which uses deactivated ballistic missiles to provide a variety of Launch Vehicles (LV) and launch services in support of DoD and other Government organizations. It is the single manager for launch of deactivated Minuteman, Peacekeeper, and other ICBM assets, including storage, aging surveillance, and refurbishment of the assets, most of which are between 15 and 40 years old. Partnering with Northrop Grumman, Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital), and other Air Force units, the LTS has developed many low cost LVs to support various government agencies and missions. Most significant among the the LTS's various launch vehicles are the Minotaur family, developed jointly with Orbital. The Minotaur I launch vehicle, based on MinutemanII solid rocket motors, has been the primary RSLP Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) since it's first flight in January 2000. Following it's successful heritage, the Minotaur IV SLV is currently in development using retired Peacekeeper rocket motors and will provide approximately three times the mass to orbit of the Minotaur I. In addition to the use of motor assets previously procured and paid for by the U.S. Government, the Minotaur family vehicles benefit from employing state-of-the-art systems that Orbital uses on a variety of launch vehicles. This provides high reliability and cost savings through the use of common systems shared across multiple programs, extensive test and flight history, refined processes and procedures, and other symbiotic benefits.

No abstract

With their use of existing, flight-proven solid rocket motors, the Minotaur-family of launch vehicles have always been inherently suited to the quick reaction requirements of Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) missions. This capability was shown to be a reality by the launch of the TacSat-2 spacecraft on 16 December 2006 using a Minotaur I space launch vehicle (SLV).The Minotaur I successfully delivered the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) TacSat-2 spacecraft to orbit -as well as the secondary NASA GeneSat-1 picosat -after being launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) launch facility on Wallops Island, VA at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF). The lessons learned from this rapid response demonstration will be applied to further reduce the reaction time of the full family of Minotaur vehicles in support of future ORS missions. The TacSat-2 mission was a precedent setting realization of ORS launch capabilities, demonstrating a dramatic reduction in the normal mission integration, range interface, and field processing timelines. The launch took place less than 7 months after being initiated in late May 2006. It also demonstrated the ability to be prepared for launch in a stand-by configuration and launch when required after waiting 'on alert' for 5 days after being prepared to launch on 11 December. Moreover, all final operations from the start of spacecraft mate until launch were independently timed to assess the processing time that would be required in a true operationally responsive launch mode. The objective for this effort was to show the ability to respond within two weeks, with a goal of one week. The cumulative measured time for critical operations bettered both marks at less than 6 days of processing, showing that Minotaur vehicles are easily capable of meeting the launch requirements of ORS missions. In addition to achieving launch readiness in record time, the TacSat-2 mission also demonstrated a number of firsts. Most significantly, it was also the first launch from the MARS launch facility and was the first successful ground-based space launch from Wallops Island in 21 years. The TacSat-2 vehicle was the first Minotaur I to fly a larger, 61 inch diameter fairing and was also the first time a RocketCam on board video camera was flown on a Minotaur vehicle. Finally, the integration of the GeneSat-1 secondary pico-spacecraft was accomplished in a compressed schedule of less than four months.

No abstract