🚀 Minotaur IV | 🛰 NROL-174
Launch date: April 16, 2025 19:33 UTC
Payload: NROL-174
Location: SLC-8, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
Vehicle: Minotaur IV
On April 16, 2025, a Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket, repurposed from a former Peacekeeper ICBM, lifted off from SLC-8 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This marked the first Minotaur launch from Vandenberg since 2011. The mission, conducted for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), launched the secretive NROL-174 payload—a classified national security mission. Few details were released regarding the nature of the payloads, which is typical for NRO launches. The launch was managed through the US Space Force’s Rocket Systems Launch Program and is noted as a return-to-flight for the Minotaur IV, which last flew in July 2020 from Virginia.
SLC-8, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA
Space Launch Complex 8 (SLC-8), formerly known as Launch Complex 8 (LC-8), is a small launch pad located at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Initially built to support the launch of Minotaur family rockets, it has been the site for a number of government and experimental satellite missions since its first launch in 2000. The complex is operated by the US Space Force and is part of the infrastructure supporting responsive and cost-effective launch capabilities.
SLC-8 is primarily utilized for Minotaur IV and Minotaur-C (formerly Taurus) launches, providing rapid access to polar and sun-synchronous orbits for a variety of payloads, mostly for military or government customers. The facility is notable for its support of smaller, solid-fueled rockets compared to the larger launch complexes at Vandenberg.