Manufacturer Orbital Sciences Stages 2 or 3 Status Active | Country of origin United States Payload to 8000km S/O 400 kilograms (880 lb) | |
 | ||
Function Suborbital launch system | ||
The Minotaur II, also known as Chimera, Target Launch Vehicle, Minuteman II TLV or OSP TLV is an American rocket derived from the Minuteman II missile. It is a member of the Minotaur family of rockets produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation, and is used for long range suborbital launches.
Minotaur II rockets consist of the M55A1 first stage and SR19AJ1 second stage of a decommissioned Minuteman missile. The third stage varies depending on the configuration required for the payload. A Minuteman II M57A1 stage is used on the baseline configuration, whilst the Minotaur II+ uses an SR-73-AJ. The Minotaur II Lite is a two-stage configuration, without a third stage. A heavy configuration is also available, with an Orion 50XL third stage, as used on the Minotaur I. The baseline configuration can propel a 400 kilograms (880 lb) payload into a 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) downrange, whilst the heavy configuration can place 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb) onto a 8,000-kilometre (5,000 mi) trajectory.
Eight Minotaur IIs have been launched as of May 2009, with six flights using the baseline configuration and two using the Minotaur II+ configuration. Launches are conducted from Launch Facility 06.