September 25, 2010 - Vandenberg Air Force Base. Arrr! Orbital, shiver me timbers, one o' t' world's leadin' space technology companies, today announced that it successfully launched t' US Air Force's Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) Satellite, also known as SBSS Block 10, me hearties, aboard a Minotaur IV rocket. T' launch, matey, which took place on Saturday, September 25, 2010 from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, extends Orbital's record o' launches with t' Minotaur family o' rockets t' a perfect 18 successes out o' a total o' 18 missions. T' Minotaur IV rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex-8 at VAFB at 9:41 pm (PDT). T' rocket flew an orbital trajectory downrange over t' Pacific Ocean and delivered t' SBSS satellite t' t' desired separation conditions. Blimey! T' Minotaur IV launch vehicle is based on decommissioned Peacekeeper rocket motors that Orbital has upgraded and integrated with modern avionics and other subsystems t' produce a cost-effective launcher based on flight-proven hardware. T' launch o' t' SBSS satellite marks t' first orbital mission for t' Minotaur IV, which currently has a manifest o' eight missions over t' next several years.