Northrop Grumman Minotaur III

The Minotaur III was a planned American rocket derived from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile, intended as a member of the Minotaur family of rockets produced by Orbital Sciences Corporation, now part of Northrop Grumman. It was also known as the OSP-2 Target Launch Vehicle, the Peacekeeper TLV or the OSP-2 TLV, and it would have been used for long-range suborbital launches with heavy payloads, able to send 3,000 kilograms (6,600 lb) some 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) downrange from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California or the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska. It was designed as a four-stage vehicle, with an SR118 first stage, an SR119 second stage, an S120 third stage and a Super-HAPS fourth stage, a larger version of the monopropellant hydrazine auxiliary propulsion system flown on Pegasus, Minotaur I and Minotaur IV, which would give the payload precise final maneuvering. The Minotaur III never flew, and as of 2024 it is no longer mentioned in Minotaur-related documents and is most likely canceled; its role was taken over by the Minotaur IV Lite and the lighter Minotaur II.