The first launch of the Minotaur IV Space Launch Vehicle is scheduled to occur Tuesday, April 20th, at noon PDT, from Vandenberg AFB, California. The Minotaur IV is the newest variant in the Minotaur family of rockets built by Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Minotaur IV is a four stage solid rocket vehicle consisting of three decommissioned Peacekeeper Missile Stages and a fourth commercially built stage developed by OSC. For this maiden lift-off, the rocket will be in a “lite” configuration, consisting of only the first three stages and no fourth stage, due to mission requirements. The payload for the first launch of the Minotaur IV is the Hypersonic Technology Vehicle built by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Falcon HTV-2 program is an innovative Research and Development joint venture of DARPA and the U.S. Air Force to develop and demonstrate hypersonic technologies that will help achieve a prompt global reach capability.

The Minotaur family of launch vehicles are provided via the Orbital/Suborbital Program 2 and managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Space Development and Test Wing’s Launch Test Squadron located at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. The Space Development and Test Wing develops and provides operationally responsive space capabilities that expand warfighter access to national space assets that enhance mission command and control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.