UPDATE: Minotaur IV launch delayed again

Processing for another slightly delayed Minotaur IV launch is under way at Kodiak Launch Complex on Kodiak Island, Alaska, for STPSat 2/STP-26 (Space Test Program S-26), aimed at enabling responsive access to space for small experimental satellites and payloads. The launch vehicle is configured in a Multi-Payload Adaptor configuration with several small satellites and nanosats, including FalconSat 5, Fastrac A/B, FASTSat-HSV 01, NanoSail D, O/OREOS and RAX (Radio Aurora Explorer), a National Science Foundation ground-to-space bistatic radar experiment. Launch is on track for November. (from Aviation Week)
The last launch at the KLC was in December 2008 - further delays might mean two consecutive calendar years with no launches at the KLC which requires millions of dollars of government funding just to maintain the facility even when not launching.

Space Weather Microsat Eyes 2010 Launch

One wonders why the AADC website has no mention of this launch; in fact, that site hasn't been updated since February, 2009 (as best we can ascertain). Once again, AADC fails in public relations and communication as we have to find out about launches in Kodiak from out-of-state news sources.


Oct 6, 2009(From Aviation Week)

Cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado have nearly finished integrating the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)-sponsored FalconSAT-5 microsatellite, which soon will undergo system testing before being shipped to Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska for launch next year.

The $11 million FalconSAT-5 will fly as a secondary payload on the Space Test Program's (STP) S26 mission, which is slated to launch on May 28, 2010, on a Minotaur IV modified ICBM.

FalconSAT-5 will perform space weather measurements with onboard sensors in collaboration with remote ground sites. On Sept. 25, the satellite's main payload - the Space Plasma Characterization Source (SPCS) - arrived at the Astronautics Laboratory. After fit checking, cadets provided updates on the satellite to STP officials during an S26 payload readiness review Sept. 29. Satellite system testing will take place in the coming months at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Manufactured by Busek Inc. of Natick, Mass., under an AFRL Small Business Innovation Research contract, SPCS uses a 500-Watt Hall Effect thruster, propelled by one kilogram of xenon and ammonia cold gas to stimulate the space environment around the satellite and perform small orbital maneuvers. The Integrated Miniaturized Electrostatic Analyzer (iMESA) and Wafer Integrated Spectrometers (WISPERS) payloads measure effects from the thruster's rocket plume on the surrounding space weather environment.

This suite of experiments will measure the local ionosphere, stimulate the local space weather environment, measure the subsequent changes and evaluate ionospheric effects on radio frequency signals for communication impacts, according to an Air Force statement.