Streak (STP-R1)

Launch data:

Mission details:

• The six-story Minotaur rocket soared off its launch pad at 7:24:29 p.m. PDT (10:24:29 p.m. EDT; 0224:29 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying an experimental military spacecraft.
• No details are available about the STP R1 satellite. It is operated by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). The satellite is believed to have carried an ion gauge and a atomic oxygen sensor, but other details of the payload are classified.
• Streak is expected to demonstrate technology for future low-earth-orbit satellites and gather information about conditions that could affect future low-earth-orbit spacecraft.Information released by DARPA indicates Streak is fitted with two instruments:- an ion gauge and an atomic oxygen sensor. The vehicle will characterize the orbital regime, demonstrate operational feasibility from a command and control standpoint and also from a platform perspective for future DoD missions. General Dynamics C4 Systems/Spectrum Astro Space Systems built the craft in Gilbert, Arizona.