Orbital Minotaur I - Manual (Page 60)

Minotaur I User’s Guide Section 6.0 – Mission Integration
The typical Mission Cycle interweaves the following activities:
a. Mission management, document exchanges, meetings, and formal reviews required to coordinate
and manage the launch service.
b. Mission analyses and payload integration, document exchanges, and meetings.
c. Design, review, procurement, testing and integration of all mission-peculiar hardware and
software.
d. Range interface, safety, and flight operations activities, document exchanges, meetings and
reviews.
Figure 6.2-1 details the typical Mission Cycle and how this cycle folds into the Orbital vehicle production
schedule with typical payload activities and milestones. A typical Mission Cycle is based on a 24 month
interval between mission authorization and launch. This interval reflects the OSP-3 contractual schedule
and has been shown to be an efficient schedule based on Orbital’s past program execution experience.
OSP-3 does allow flexibility to negotiate either accelerated or extended mission cycles that may be
required by unique payload requirements. Payload scenarios that might drive a change in the duration of
the mission cycle include those that have funding limitations, rapid response demonstrations, extensive
analysis needs or contain highly complex payload-to-launch vehicle integrated designs or tests.
Figure 6.2-1. Typical Minotaur Mission Integration Schedule
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