Space startup Vector will launch three tiny rockets to orbit from Virginia next year

Spaceflight startup Vector — which specializes in micro-rockets — plans to launch its first orbit-bound vehicles from Virginia in mid-2018. Last week, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Vector would be conducting its first three commercial missions from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a launch site at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. These will be the first Vector flights that carry satellites to space for commercial customers, and will help the company further validate the performance of its rockets.

Vector will be launching three Vector-R rockets, one of two types of vehicles the company is offering to customers. The Vector-R is a four-story-high vehicle that can loft satellites weighing up to 145 pounds into lower...

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