Orbital ATK has launched a group of ten Earth observation satellites into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US.
An Orbital ATK Minotaur C rocket was used to deploy the satellites on behalf of US-based Earth-imaging company Planet.
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The satellites are part of Planet’s SkySat and Dove constellations, both of which are currently in operation.
Approximately 12 minutes into the flight, Minotaur Crocket started deploying six SkySat spacecraft one at a time into a Sun-synchronous orbit situated 500km above Earth.
After deploying the six primary satellites, the rocket placed the four secondary Dove spacecraft into their planned orbit.
The new Dove and SkySat network of remote sensing satellites will be able to provide a global information feed to businesses, governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) worldwide.
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By GlobalDataManufactured in California, Planet’s Dove and SkySat satellite constellations include 13 and 275 spacecraft, respectively.
Orbital ATK Launch Vehicles Division vice-president and general manager Rich Straka said: “Launching small and medium-class payloads on dedicated Orbital ATK launch vehicles gives commercial customers the ability to control their schedules while meeting challenging mission requirements.”
Orbital ATK further noted that its Minotaur C rocket is designed to launch payloads up to 3,500lb.
The rocket used in the latest launch has been configured with four solid rocket commercial motors, including CASTOR 120, Orion 50S XL, Orion 50 XL and Orion 38.
All four motors were manufactured by Orbital ATK at facilities located in Clearfield, Magna and Promontory, Utah.
