Virgin Orbit’s first launch demonstration flight has ended in a very unceremonious fashion. The spaceflight firm reported a “clean release” of LauncherOne from the Cosmic Girl host aircraft, but the rocket’s journey “terminated shortly into the flight.” In other words, LauncherOne didn’t have a realistic chance of reaching orbit.

The company had warned that the flight might not end well. This was the first time anyone had lit up a liquid-fuelled rocket at high altitude in a horizontal position, and it wasn’t clear if the rocket would last more than a brief moment.

Virgin Orbit is a spinoff of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and is dedicated to low-cost smallsat projects. This new Virgin Orbit endeavor was reportedly inspired by NASA’s recent InSight mission, which successfully sent two cubesats to Mars. Now, the company believes it can send its own similar spacecraft (as light as 110 pounds) into deep space using its LauncherOne rocket.

The potential for small satellites stretches far beyond LEO – and whoever said Virgin’s orbit was limited to the Earth?

We’re above and beyond excited to announce our first mission to the Red Planet. https://t.co/bxiV1RuIAs

— Virgin Orbit (@Virgin_Orbit) October 9, 2019

Once the cubesats reach the planet, they may take photos, study the atmosphere or look for water. Eventually, Virgin Orbit may examine the moons of Mars, Venus and “maybe a couple of the asteroids in the asteroid belt,” Will Pomerantz, the vice president of special projects at Virgin Orbit, told The Verge.

Virgin Orbit will have to complete its LauncherOne rocket first. The 70-foot-long rocket will be dropped from Virgin Orbit’s Boeing 747 carrier, dubbed “Cosmic Girl.” The rocket will then blast off from mid-air. LauncherOne has completed ‘captive carry’ and drop tests, but it has yet to take its first test flight. The success of these Mars-based cubesat missions will likely depend on LauncherOne.

Company chief Dan Hart told CNBC in an interview that he hoped the first full-fledged launch would take place “before the end of the summer.” A first commercial launch, meanwhile, could come roughly eight to 10 weeks after that. Virgin already has six rockets in progress in its factory, and thinks it can produce “beyond 20” per year, Hart added.

The relatively quick schedule isn’t completely outlandish. Unlike Virgin Galactic, the Orbit team isn’t carrying crewed vessels into space — there’s still a lot to consider, but there are clearly fewer variables. As it is, the team has plenty of incentive to hurry. Virgin expects to charge between $10 million to $15 million per flight, which is a bargain compared to other aircraft-based launches and many conventional rockets. If successful, it could become a go-to option for satellite operators that want to trim their costs.

Ever wonder what #LauncherOne looks like from Cosmic Girl’s perspective? Here’s some more footage from our most recent captive carry flight test, featuring never-before-seen angles of our flying launchpad. pic.twitter.com/IqMNi5mK2x

— Virgin Orbit (@Virgin_Orbit) June 7, 2019

In fact, Virgin Orbit will release a fully built and fully loaded LauncherOne during that flight. The company says it will be gathering data on a lot of things, but the first drop test is mostly about the first few seconds after release. It’s how the company can find out whether the rocket can cleanly break free from its carrier aircraft, a modified 747, and how it can observe the LauncherOne free falling through the air.

“This upcoming drop test is a huge deal for our team. It represents the last major step of a development program we began in 2015, focused not just on designing a rocket but proving it out alongside the modified 747 that serves as our flying launchpad,” Virgin Orbit wrote in its announcement.

While there’s no definite date for the launch yet, the company’s carrier aircraft and test rocket are ready to go anytime. Virgin Orbit is just coordinating with authorities to secure the airspace over the Edwards Air Force Base before announcing when the flight will take place.