COSMIC 1-6
Minotaur I
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Mission
COSMIC 1-6
Type: Earth Science
In early 2001, the National Space Program Office (NSPO) of Taiwan, Republic of China, selected Orbital for a $56 million contract for the ROCSAT-3/COSMIC (Republic of China Satellite / Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate) program. ROCSAT was renamed FORMOSAT in December 2004. The FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC program is an international collaboration between Taiwan and the United States that will use a constellation of six remote sensing microsatellites to collect atmospheric data for weather prediction and for ionosphere, climate and gravity research. Data from the satellites will be made freely available to the international scientific community in near real-time.
Trajectory
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Location
Space Launch Complex 8
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
714 rockets have launched from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
Rocket
Minotaur I – Orbital Sciences Corporation
- Family: Minotaur
- Length: 19.21 m
- Diameter: 1.67 m
- Launch Mass: 36 T
- Low Earth Orbit Capacity: 580 kg
The Minotaur I was manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation with the first launch on 2000-01-27. Minotaur I has 12 successful launches and 0 failed launches with a total of 12 launches. The Minotaur I launch system is derived from converted Minuteman II ICBMs and is used to launch small satellites for the US Government. The first and second stages, taken directly from decommissioned Minuteman missiles, are mated to the Orion third and fourth stages taken from the Pegasus XL air-launched rocket family. An optional hydrazine-powered fifth stage called HAPS can be used.The Minotaur I launch system is derived from converted Minuteman II ICBMs and is used to launch small satellites for the US Government. An optional hydrazine-powered fifth stage called HAPS can be used.
Agency
Orbital Sciences Corporation – OSC
- Type: Commercial
- Abbreviation: OSC
- Country: USA
