Northrop Grumman Space SystemsMinotaur IVSpace Launch Complex 8, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
STP-S29A
Launched
April 7, 2026 · 11:33 UTC
Image: USAF
Summary
STP-S29A launched on a Northrop Grumman Space Systems Minotaur IV from Space Launch Complex 8, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA on April 7, 2026 at 11:33 UTC. The launch window ran from 11:30 to 16:30 UTC. It was Northrop Grumman Space Systems's 16th launch, 1st this year and humanity's 7,252nd orbital launch attempt. It was the 5th Minotaur IV flight and the 1st this year. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). ASTRA-HyRAX, one of 9 catalogued objects, reached a 495 × 513 km orbit inclined 60.0°. 9 objects from this launch are catalogued, 8 of them payloads.
- Watch
- AGS6 Launch Livestream (STP-S29A)AggieSat Laboratory
- Booster
- No booster details on record.
- Mission
- Technology · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)for DoD
- Milestone
- 5th Minotaur IV flight · 1st this yearNorthrop Grumman Space Systems's 16th launch1st this yearhumanity's 7,252nd orbital launch attempt79th orbital launch attempt this year
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
ASTRA-HyRAX · NORAD 68627 · 2026-074 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 9 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 2026-074A
- Epoch
- 2026-04-07 20:26:01 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.23092601 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0013224
- Inclination
- 60.0172°
- Ascending node
- 87.9652°
- Arg. of perigee
- 290.8003°
- Mean anomaly
- 69.166°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 6
- B*
- 0.000094553
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
9 catalogued: 8 payloads, 1 rocket stage; 9 still in orbit
- ASTRA-HyRAX · NORAD 68627 · in orbit
- MISR-C-1 · NORAD 68628 · in orbit
- Rawhide 1 · NORAD 68629 · in orbit
- STPSat-7 · NORAD 68630 · in orbit
- Rawhide 2 · NORAD 68632 · in orbit
- MISR-C-2 · NORAD 68633 · in orbit
- AggieSat-6 · NORAD 68634 · in orbit
- CANVAS · NORAD 68635 · in orbit
Minotaur IV (9) Stage 4 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
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.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 8, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
10th launch from Space Launch Complex 8, 1st this year · 874th from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Local pad time at liftoff: Apr 7, 4:33 AM PDT, at night
10 launches from this pad · 919 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
355 days after the previous launch from this pad
Updates
Launch success.
Show 8 earlier updates
Liftoff.
Cosmic_Penguin · 4/7/2026 · source
Unofficial Webcast by AggieSat Laboratory has started
LL2 · 4/7/2026 · source
Go for launch on April 7.
Cosmic_Penguin · 4/3/2026 · source
NET April 7.
Cosmic_Penguin · 1/15/2026 · source
NET February 2026.
Cosmic_Penguin · 9/14/2025 · source
NET December 10.
Cosmic_Penguin · 8/29/2025 · source
NET December.
Cosmic_Penguin · 5/9/2025 · source
Added launch.
Cosmic_Penguin · 10/10/2024 · source
Questions
When did STP-S29A launch?
STP-S29A launched on April 7, 2026 at 11:33 UTC. The launch window ran from 11:30 to 16:30 UTC.
Where can I watch STP-S29A?
Coverage: AGS6 Launch Livestream (STP-S29A). Watch the replay
What rocket launched STP-S29A?
Minotaur IV, flown by Northrop Grumman Space Systems. Minotaur IV spec sheet
Where did STP-S29A launch from?
Space Launch Complex 8, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA. Liftoff was Apr 7, 4:33 AM PDT local time at the pad.
What orbit did STP-S29A reach?
ASTRA-HyRAX, one of 9 catalogued objects, reached a 495 × 513 km orbit inclined 60.0°.
How many satellites did STP-S29A launch?
8 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 8 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).