Flight International online 10:00GMT: Orbital Sciences Corporation has successfully launched a satellite for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) aboard a Minotaur I rocket. 
Minotaur launch pad
The mission, called STP-R1, originated from Vandenberg Air Force Base on September 22 when the Minotaur rocket ignited its first stage motor and lifted-off from its West Coast launch site.
Approximately nine minutes after launch, the STP-R1 satellite was inserted into its targeted orbit of approximately 300 kilometers above the Earth.
The mission was the fourth flight of the Minotaur I space launch vehicle, all of which have been successful.
Since the programme's first flight in 2000, the Minotaur family of space and suborbital launch vehicles has carried out nine launches.
ROSS BENTLEY/LONDON
Source: Flight International
