New Launch: 2009 May 19, 2355 UTC
Site: Wallops Island, Virginia, USA
Launcher: Minotaur
International Designator(s): 2009-028A, B, C, D, E

SCC Name Owner
35001 TACSAT 3 US
35002 PHARMASAT US
35003 HAWKSAT 1 US
35004 POLYSAT CP6 US
35005 AEROCUBE 3 US


"A Minotaur rocket made a twilight ascent into space from Virginia's Eastern Shore Tuesday evening, successfully carting an experimental satellite into orbit to begin a year of tactical military exercises on the final frontier.

"The 69-foot-tall [21-m-tall] Minotaur 1 booster lit its first stage and barreled into the sky at 7:55 p.m. EDT (2355 GMT) from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Va."

"The four-stage rocket reached a 264-mile-high [425-km-high] orbit about 9 minutes after liftoff, and then began a one-by-one sequence of deploying its payloads.

"The Air Force's TacSat 3 satellite separated from the Minotaur's fourth stage about 12 minutes after liftoff.

"NASA's PharmaSat biology research spacecraft was released next. PharmaSat is a 10-pound [4.5-kg] satellite loaded with yeast cells in 48 microscopic sample containers in a fully-functional miniature laboratory.

"PharmaSat was deployed 22 minutes after liftoff from a self-contained deployment system called a P-POD. The bread loaf-sized satellite contacted a ground station later Tuesday night, confirming it was in good shape following the launch."

"The Minotaur also carried three tiny CubeSats: CP6 for California Polytechnic State University, HawkSat 1 for the Maryland-based Hawk Institute for Space Sciences, and AeroCube 3 for the Aerospace Corporation."

"TacSat 3 carries a high-resolution imager and user-friendly software that will attempt to show officials the value of responsive spacecraft to lower-ranking military commanders leading troops on the battlefield."