In June 2001, the Republic of China's National Space Program Office (NSPO) selected the Orbital Sciences Corporation Taurus rocket to launch the ROCSAT 2 remote sensing satellite in 2003. Neither party disclosed the value of the award, which is subject to final contract execution.

Taiwan had contracted with India to launch ROCSAT 2, but has cancelled the contract because of pressure from the United States. The United States insisted that Taiwan respect a United Nations ban imposed on India. Under the UN embargo, India has been banned from imports of high-tech products and parts for violating the international nuclear weapons proliferation treaty.

Orbital will provide the higher-performance XL version of the Taurus rocket. The Taurus XL incorporates the first and second stages of the Pegasus XL vehicle as compared to the original Taurus configuration, which incorporates the first and second stages of a standard Pegasus rocket.