A Minotaur V five-stage version has also been conceptualized. It would have an additional upper stage for small GTO, lunar, and interplanetary missions. NASA has awarded a contract to the Orbital Sciences Corporation, managed by the Air Force's Space Development and Test Wing (SDTW), to use a Minotaur V to launch the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) Mission from the Wallops Island, Virginia launch site in early 2013. The Minotaur will launch the LADEE spacecraft into a highly elliptic orbit where it can phase and time its trajectory burn to the moon.
Read more about this topic: Minotaur (rocket Family)