WASHINGTON — A Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket successfully launched multiple classified payloads for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on April 16, marking a return to Vandenberg Space Force Base for the solid-fueled launch vehicle after more than a decade.
The mission, designated NROL-174, lifted off at 3:33 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex 8 (SLC-8) at Vandenberg, California. The NRO confirmed shortly after liftoff that the launch was successful but did not provide details about the payloads.
The National Reconnaissance Office builds and operates U.S. spy satellites, and provides intelligence data to the Department of Defense, intelligence agencies and policymakers.
This launch was the first time since 2011 that a Minotaur rocket has flown an NRO mission from Vandenberg. The previous Vandenberg-based NRO launch using a Minotaur was NROL-66.
NROL-174 is the third mission launched as part of the Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 (OSP-3), which is managed by the U.S. Space Force’s Rocket Systems Launch Program (RSLP). The program is designed to give the government flexible access to space by buying rides on smaller rockets like the Minotaur IV.
The Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 is a contract vehicle that allows the Space Force to procure small- and medium-class launch services, mostly for technology demonstrations, experimental payloads, and operational systems on short notice.
The Minotaur IV is a four-stage vehicle derived in part from decommissioned Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. The first three stages are government-furnished Peacekeeper solid rocket motors, while the upper stage is a commercial Orion solid motor built by Northrop Grumman.
The rocket can carry up to 1,730 kilograms (3,814 pounds) to low Earth orbit and first flew in 2010. Since then, it has launched from several locations across the U.S., including Wallops Island in Virginia, Kodiak Island in Alaska, Cape Canaveral in Florida, and Vandenberg in California.
NROL-174 follows previous NRO missions flown on Minotaur rockets—NROL-129 in 2020 and NROL-111 in 2021—both launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
