Photos: Atlas 5 rolls out for launch

Work to create a new all-American rocket, the United Launch Alliance Vulcan-Centaur, has passed its first major hurdle for its first flight in three years, officials announced Thursday.

United Launch Alliance is expected to reveal its design for a next generation satellite launcher Monday, outlining a 20-year roadmap to develop a new methane-powered first stage booster, an advanced space tug and a reusable rocket engine.

Virgin Orbit could attempt its first orbital test launch later this month over the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles, capping a development program for an air-launched small satellite carrier that began in earnest eight years ago.