[Satellite Today – 4-15-08] The U.S. Air Force Space and Missiles Systems Center (SMC) has ordered three additional Minotaur space launch vehicles from Orbital Sciences Corp., Orbital announced April 15.
    The order, which is valued at $40 million, is for two Minotaur 4 vehicles and one Minotaur 1 vehicle, for launches set to take place in 2010 and 2011. These are the first fully operational launch vehicles procured specifically for the new Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) office since the Program Office was created in May 2007.
    The addition of the three new orders brings the total number of Minotaur rockets procured by the Air Force to 24.  Of the 24 total vehicles, 14 have been launched since the inaugural mission in January 2000, seven of which were the Minotaur 1 Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) configuration and seven of the suborbital Minotaur 2 target vehicle design.  The first launch of the latest Minotaur configuration, the Peacekeeper-based Minotaur 4, is currently scheduled for later this year.
    "We are once again honored to be called upon by the Air Force to carry out these important launches to help further the Operationally Responsive Space initiative that will play a critical role in America’s ability to respond quickly in a time of crisis," said Lou Amorosi, Orbital’s vice president and Minotaur program manager in a statement.  "Building on the success of the past ORS-related TacSat-2 space launch and NFIRE target vehicle missions, we are eager to support the Air Force’s efforts to provide our country with quick-response space system capabilities."