Minotaur 1 rocket launches with 'national security payload' from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility

The Minotaur I rocket launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Tuesday morning carrying undisclosed cargo classified as a "national security payload" by the U.S. Space Force.

The Minotaur I, built by Northrop Grumman, lifted off around 9:35 a.m. EDT from Virginia's Wallops Island. It had been scheduled for a 7 a.m. liftoff but was delayed due to storms.

For those who missed the launch, livestreamed video of liftoff is available through the NASA Wallops YouTube page.

The rocket's cargo will support a National Reconnaissance Office mission, NROL-111, "to provide intelligence data to United States’ senior policy makers, the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense," according to the NRO.

Minotaur I can launch up to 1,278 pounds of payload into low Earth orbit and has delivered roughly 62 satellites to-date, according to Northrop Grumman.

Last summer marked the first U.S. Space Force mission from Wallops Flight Facility — as well as the NRO’s first dedicated launch from Wallops — as a Minotaur IV rocket launched mission NROL-129 that July. Minotaur rockets have been launched from Wallops for nearly 15 years.

The Minotaur rocket family provides low-cost and reliable access to space for government-sponsored payloads, according to Northrop Grumman. To date, the rockets have completed 27 missions out of every major U.S. spaceport, with 100% success.

This mission's launch services are supported by Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise, according to NASA.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Wallops rocket launch: Watch NASA Minotaur 1 liftoff replay