Posted: Sun, Apr 20, 2025, 10:20 AM ET (1420 GMT)
For the first time in more than a decade, a Minotaur 4 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday. The solid-fuel rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 8 at Vandenberg at 3:33 p.m. Eastern on the NROL-174 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. The rocket placed multiple classified payloads into orbit, but the NRO did not disclose details on the mission. The launch was the first for the Minotaur 4, a rocket derived from the Peacekeeper ICBM, from Vandenberg since 2011, and the first for the rocket from any location since a July 2020 launch from Wallops Island, Virginia.

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