It was developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation, (now absorbed into Northrop Grumman) and made its maiden, and to date, only flight on 7 September 2013 carrying the LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) spacecraft for NASA.

Two variants are available, one with a spin-stabilized Star-37FM upper stage, and the other with a Star-37FMV capable of three-axis stabilization.

[3] The Star-37FMV upper stage is heavier, reducing payload capacity, but is more maneuverable.

The payload for the maiden flight was the LADEE lunar exoatmosphere science spacecraft (SATCAT: 39246, decay date: 18 April 2014).

[5] While now separated from the LADEE spacecraft, both the fourth and fifth stages of the Minotaur V reached orbit, and became derelict satellites in Earth orbit (SATCAT: 39248, decay date: 27 November 2013).