Success
NROL-111
Government/Top Secret
Northrop Grumman Space Systems(NGSS)CommercialMinotaur I
LEOorbit
Classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
Tuesday, June 15, 2021 at 1:35 PM
Replay
Links
Mission details
Orbital Attempt
#6,092
NGSS Mission
#10
Pad Launch
#8
Location Launch
#70
Designator
2021-052
Launch Window
NET
Jun 15, 2021, 1:35 PM
Schedule Changes
1 update
Lift Off
10:30 AM
Window Open
3:30 PM
Window Close
Minotaur I Specs
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.
Length
19.21 m
Diameter
1.67 m
Launch Mass
36 t
Thrust
935 kN
LEO Capacity
580 kg
SSO Capacity
331 kg
Reusable
No
Maiden Flight
2000
Fastest Turnaround
4mo 8d
Total Launches
12
Successful
12
Failed
0
Consecutive Success
12
Maiden flight: Jan 27, 2000
Social Flight Log
- Jun 15, 2021, 4:02 PM
Launch success confirmed by the US Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center
Source - Jun 15, 2021, 11:09 AM
Now targeting 13:35 UTC
Source - Jun 15, 2021, 8:37 AM
Hold at T-minus 2 hours 30 minutes
Source - Jun 8, 2021, 5:41 PM
Targeting 11:00 UTC
Source - Jun 1, 2021, 6:20 PM
Launch window confirmed. Setting GO.
Source - May 17, 2021, 6:52 PM
Launch NET June 15. Launch time TBD.
Source
Launch Area 0 B
LP-0B became operational in 1999,and was subsequently upgraded in 2003 with the construction of a mobile service tower, which was completed in 2004. It is active, and is currently used by Northrop Grumman Minotaur rockets. The first launch from LP-0B was of a Minotaur I in December 2006, and was the first launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
Total Launches
8
Orbital Attempts
8
Fastest Turnaround
2mo 13d
Northrop Grumman Space Systems
Northrup Grumman Space Systems designs, builds and delivers space, defence and aviation-related systems to customers around the world. They aquired Orbital ATK in 2018 along with its launchers and ongoing missions.
Founded
2015
Administrator
CEO: Kathy Warden
Total Launches
16
Successful
16
Failed
0
Pending
2
Consecutive Success
16
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Wallops Flight Facility is a rocket launch site on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, United States, just east of the Delmarva Peninsula and north-northeast of Norfolk. The facility is operated by the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and primarily serves to support science and exploration missions for NASA and other federal agencies. WFF includes an extensively instrumented range to support launches of more than a dozen types of sounding rockets; small expendable suborbital and orbital rockets; high-altitude balloon flights carrying scientific instruments for atmospheric and astronomical research; and, using its Research Airport, flight tests of aeronautical research aircraft, including uncrewed aerial vehicles.
Timezone
America/New_York
Local Launch Time
Jun 15, 2021, 9:35 AM
Total Launches
86
Total Landings
0
Coordinates
37.9333, -75.4678