Orbital Gets Air Force Order For Launch Vehicle

DULLES, Va. (AP) — Orbital Sciences Corp., which makes small rockets, satellites and other space equipment, said Monday it recently received an order from the U.S. Air Force for a Minotaur launch vehicle.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The contractor will provide the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Center with the first Minotaur V launch vehicle under one of the company's current contracts.

The Minotaur V rocket will be used to propel NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer probe. The probe will orbit the Moon "to characterize the atmosphere and lunar dust environment and determine the global density, composition, and time variability of the lunar atmosphere before it is perturbed by further human activity," according to Orbital.

The mission is currently scheduled for launch in May 2012 from Wallops Island, Va.

Since 1997, Orbital has provided 28 Minotaur launch vehicles to the U.S. Air Force, including space launch and target launch.

Shares of Orbital added 7 cents to $14.58 in afternoon trading.