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Virgin Orbit's rocket is designed to run on two-liter engines,

April 30, 2018 by James Ashley

Virgin Orbit's rocket is designed to run on two-liter engines, and will carry 2.6 metric tons of thrust in its first flight and 1.8 metric tons in its next two (two-liter) launches. The rocket is also powered by a two-liter Merlin engine, which will power the first rocket's payload. Virgin Orbit says its launch is "the first time since 2001 that an Atlas V has carried two-liter engines with two-liter Vengue engines." But the company also says its first flight of the rocket was "the first time there was a rocket capable of carrying two-liter Vengue engines in a single engine." The last flight of the rockets involved a launch of a Falcon 9 on January 5 at 11:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, when rockets are traveling at speeds of more than 50 kilometers per hour. This particular rocket will be the first time the company has successfully carried two-liter engines, and Virgin Orbit says it expects more launches to be done in the future.

Virgin Orbit has been planning for all of this for some time now, but this one, with its three-meter-long launcher, is the first rocket it's ever used. It also has a few other accomplishments and features. It was founded in 1969, and launched its first satellite, the TELUS-1 satellite, in 1972. It also designed and built a new version of the Atlas V rocket, and it has developed a series of engines designed to carry two-liter Vengue engines.

Virgin Orbit has a few more launches planned for the rest of 2017, but this one may not be one of them yet. Virgin Orbit is also working on its first satellite, a multi-engine Titan IV, which is based on an Atlas V rocket called the TELUS-1.

The Falcon 9 is expected to perform a successful launch and then a successful second launch, which will be used to provide a second, larger (50 pounds) rocket to be used for the next few years.