Hey Alaskaman,
Here is the release from SSI based on the use of the Minuteman II. Hope this helps.
Go EPEA!
8 June 1998
The California Spaceportr Will Launch Minuteman!
The California Spaceportr will be the site of the first Orbital/Sub-orbital Program (OSP)
Space launch vehicle, called the "Minotaur", and is scheduled for late 1999. The OSP
office located at Kirtland AFB announced Wednesday, May 27, that that Spaceport
Systems International, L.P. (SSI) was selected to provide commercial launch services and
the launch site for the OSP/JAWSAT mission. The JAWSAT/FalconSat payloads are
being developed as a joint effort between the Air Force Academy and Weber State
University.
The OSP project office was tasked by the Air Force to convert and utilize excess
Minuteman II missiles for government satellite delivery. The JAWSAT and FalconSat
satellites, along with several micro-sats, will be the first payloads to fly on the converted
Minuteman. The "Minotaur" is a launch vehicle made up of the modified Minuteman II
Stage I and Stage II segments mated with Pegasus upper stages and avionics by Orbital
Sciences Corporation (OSC). This program demonstrates the U.S. government's
commitment to utilize excess cold war assets for research and education, while at the same
time using commercially available launch services to reduce their overall program costs,
as directed by the Commercial Space Act of 1994.
In 1996, the California Spaceportr was one of four launch facilities designated as
"qualified launch sites" for the converted Minuteman II launch vehicle. The
JAWSAT/FalconSat mission is the first orbital launch awarded. Earl Severo, CEO of SSI,
considers this is a major win for the California Spaceportr. "The Minotaur launch will
demonstrate our ability to integrate and provide launch services that are affordable with
the highest quality of service while achieving reduced cycle times to launch. This award
sets the course for a full service operations at the Californiar Spaceport."
Operated by Spaceport Systems International (SSI), (a limited partnership between ITT
Federal Services Corporation and California Commercial Spaceport, Inc.) the California
Spaceportr is located in the southern most corner of Vandenberg Air Force Base and is
ideally situated to support direct injection into a broad range of polar orbit inclinations.
Currently, Spaceport operations consist of payload processing services provided in the
Integrated Processing Facility (IPF) located on Space Launch Complex Six (SLC-6) and
now include launch services from facilities just south of SLC-6.
For more information, call Spaceport Systems International at 805-733-7370.
Point of contact: Earl Severo |
