Author Topic: Minotaur IV : STP-S29A : September 2025  (Read 865 times)

Offline AndrewM

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Minotaur IV : STP-S29A : September 2025
« on: 10/10/2024 01:46 am »
Thread for the STP=S29A launch with 200kg of STP satellites including STPSat-7 NET September 2025 aboard Minotaur IV.

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The U.S. Space Force’s Small Launch and Targets Division’s Office at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, part of Space Systems command’s (SSC) Assured Access to Space (AATS) organization, awarded a $29.9 million task order to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation on Sept. 30, 2022, for the Space Test Program (STP)-S29A launch service. This is the fourth task order under the Orbital Services Program-4 (OSP-4) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. STP-S29A is a complex mission that will deliver technology demonstrations to orbit and contribute to future space system development. Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation’s Minotaur IV launch vehicle will deliver up to 200kg of STP cubesats, with specific payloads finalized during task order performance, to low earth orbit with a planned launch date in Sept. 2024.

Offline AndrewM

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Re: Minotaur IV : STP-S29A : September 2025
« Reply #1 on: 10/10/2024 01:48 am »
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U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Lightsheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation (LARADO) instrument was successfully integrated and tested on the Space Test Program Satellite 7 (STPSat-7) spacecraft at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, on July 17, 2024.

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The spacecraft is scheduled for launch on a Department of Defense (DOD) STP sponsored flight out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, in September 2025, on a Minotaur IV launch vehicle.

https://phys.org/news/2024-08-naval-laboratory-larado-instrument-lethal.html [Aug 30]

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Re: Minotaur IV : STP-S29A : September 2025
« Reply #2 on: 10/10/2024 02:19 am »
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U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Lightsheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation (LARADO) instrument was successfully integrated and tested on the Space Test Program Satellite 7 (STPSat-7) spacecraft at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, on July 17, 2024.

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The spacecraft is scheduled for launch on a Department of Defense (DOD) STP sponsored flight out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, in September 2025, on a Minotaur IV launch vehicle.

https://phys.org/news/2024-08-naval-laboratory-larado-instrument-lethal.html [Aug 30]

Is this "September 2025" made bold above a typo in the source, or has STP-S29A been delayed a year, or is this payload on a later STP flight?

SpaceNews reported in April 2023:
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STP-S29A was awarded last year to Northrop Grumman, The company won a $29.9 million task order to launch the mission in September 2024 on a Minotaur 4 small launch vehicle.
https://spacenews.com/astra-wins-11-5-million-contract-to-launch-military-experimental-payloads/
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Offline AndrewM

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Re: Minotaur IV : STP-S29A : September 2025
« Reply #3 on: 11/01/2024 07:52 pm »
Is this "September 2025" made bold above a typo in the source, or has STP-S29A been delayed a year, or is this payload on a later STP flight?

I'm pretty sure it was just delayed a year given it is now November 2024 and the next planned Minotaur launch is NROL-174 (as of August).

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