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Orbital Sciences [ORB] Apr. 22 launched the first of its Minotaur IV rockets in support of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-2 (HTV-2), according to the company.
The Minotaur IV launch vehicle is based on decommissioned Peacekeeper rocket motors that Orbital integrates and upgrades with modern avionics and other subsystems to produce a cost-effective booster based on flight-proven hardware. The mission originated from Space Launch Complex-8 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
For the HTV-2 mission, Orbital flew a three-stage Minotaur IV "Lite" version of the rocket to carry out the suborbital flight trajectory. The rocket propelled the HTV-2 air vehicle into the upper atmosphere,...