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Virgin's new rocket is called the VSS Unity. And we've

Dec. 10, 2017 by Ella Pickett

Virgin's new rocket is called the VSS Unity. And we've also got some good news on Virgin's commercial crew. It's going to be a fun, fun ride.

Virgin launches three Falcon 9 flights into the sky on its new rocket. This one is the first in a series of four flights that the company will carry out on its new Falcon Heavy rocket, which is going to be the world's first reusable launch vehicle capable of taking on other reusable rockets.

The company's last reusable flight into space is on May 22, 2013. Virgin says it will also fly the first "SpaceX-style" Falcon 9.

In addition, Virgin said a special parachute will be introduced for its first "L-4" test flight of the Falcon 9.

Virgin's next test flight is on June 7. The Falcon 9 is scheduled to test new rocket technology, including a new high-altitude rocket and more advanced thrusters.

In May, Virgin flew a first full-size Falcon 9 rocket into the sun. The booster took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and it's set for a trip to space at a rate of about 2.1 billion miles per hour.

Virgin is not ready to announce this day and time, but it may still be able to tell you what's going on at that time. After the Falcon 9's launch in March, Virgin announced that its Falcon Heavy rockets are now undergoing a power-down test before they're capable of rocketing.

This was an update from the original Falcon 9. It's also the first time Virgin has landed a Falcon 9 rocket on a spacecraft.

The company had previously promised to send a reusable payload to Mars sometime in 2015. A year later, Virgin confirmed that it would launch a Falcon 9 rocket into space next year.

Virgin's next flight is on March 6, 2020. That flight will be the first of its kind designed for the space industry and will see it complete the test of its reusable payload.

Virgin has said it will fly the Falcon 9 at an altitude of just over 80km. This will be its first full-size test flight since its first mission in 2006.

Virgin hasn't said much about its future plans for a private launch system. The company's previous venture with SpaceX was called the Falcon Heavy. In March, it unveiled a $250 million contract to develop a new, reusable launch platform in the future.