A four-stage launch vehicle developed by the US Orbital Sciences Corporation. It is able to put satellites weighing up to 1 350 kg into a low Earth orbit, and those of up to 360 kg into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Taurus has launched 17 satellites in nine missions, with the first taking place on 13 March 1994. Three of the last four launches have ended in failure, including the 24 February 2009 launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory mission and the 4 March 2011 launch of the Glory mission, resulting in a US$700 million loss for NASA, not including the cost of the rockets themselves. Taurus was renamed Minotaur-C on its next (successful) flight on 31 October 2017, when it was nicknamed the ‘Frankenstein Rocket’. The rocket also successfully delivered several new Earth observation satellites into orbit