Aurora
Tuning into the cosmos…
LoadingAurora
Tuning into the cosmos…
LoadingMinotaur IV

Minotaur IV | STP-S29A launched on Tue, Apr 7, 2026, 11:33 AM UTC — a Northrop Grumman Space Systems mission.
NET Tue, Apr 7, 2026, 11:33 AM UTC
Live coverage
Mission profile
Flight simulation
A representative gravity-turn climb for Minotaur IV to Low Earth Orbit. Illustrative model — not this mission’s live telemetry.
SimulatedRepresentative Minotaur IV ascent profile — illustrative model, not this mission’s live telemetry.
The mission
STP-S29A is a mission under the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Test Program (STP) that will deliver technology demonstrations to orbit and contribute to future space system development, with this launch delivering up to 200 kg of STP cubesats to Low Earth Orbit. The main payload will be STPSat-7, an ESPA class satellite based on the Aegis Aerospace M-1 satellite bus used on the STPSat-4 mission for hosting research and technology demonstration payloads for the Department of Defense (DoD). One of the payload is U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) Lightsheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation (LARADO) instrument, used to detect and characterize lethal non-trackable orbital debris with lasers in orbit.
Around this launch
No news linked to this launch yet
As coverage publishes, deduplicated articles about this mission will appear here.
Good to know
Minotaur IV | STP-S29A is scheduled to lift off Tue, Apr 7, 2026, 11:33 AM UTC.
Watch the official live webcast embedded on this page — it goes live shortly before liftoff.
Minotaur IV | STP-S29A is an Northrop Grumman Space Systems mission flying on a Minotaur IV.
It lifts off from Space Launch Complex 8, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.