Taurus-Lite

Orbital Sciences Taurus Lite

Mission Profile

Taurus-Lite was a reduced-cost three-stage variant of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Taurus launch vehicle, designed to serve small payloads at a lower price point than the full Taurus by omitting or downgrading certain components. Derived from the Pegasus-Taurus family of solid-propellant vehicles, it aimed to fill a cost-sensitive niche for government and commercial small satellite operators. Its first flight took place in February 2003, and while it drew on the proven heritage of the broader Orbital Sciences launch vehicle lineage, the Taurus-Lite was utilized only sparingly as a specialized low-cost configuration before the company consolidated its small-launch offerings.