spacetoday.net: Minotaur launches military satellite

Posted: Thu, Jun 30, 2011, 7:31 AM ET (1131 GMT)
Minotaur 1 before ORS-1 launch (NASA)

A Minotaur rocket launched a small military satellite late Wednesday evening from Virginia. The Minotaur 1 rocket lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia, at 11:09 pm EDT (0309 GMT Thursday) and released the ORS-1 satellite into low Earth orbit about 12 minutes later. The satellite, the first operational spacecraft for the Operationally Responsive Space (ORS) Office, will provide tactical imagery directly to troops in the field. The launch took place near the end of the three-hour launch window because of problems with ground support equipment and the rocket's flight termination system. A previous launch attempt Tuesday was scrubbed by stormy weather.