The Virgin Orbit rocket presents an anomaly during the launch demo

The launch would have seen the rocket – Launcher One – “start the engine in midair for the first time” according to a press release. However, the rocket has encountered a problem.

“We confirmed a clean release from the aircraft” Virgin Orbit tweeted. “However, the mission ended shortly on the flight.”

The company later tweeted that the rocket suffered an anomaly in its first stage flight.

“As we said before the flight, today our goals were to work through the launch process, learn as much as possible and get the ignition going. We hoped we could do more, but today we achieved those key goals” said the company.

Virgin Orbit indicated in a press release that the “mission has ended securely”. A spokesman confirmed that the rocket had fallen into the ocean.

The company wants to launch satellites into orbit using rockets that launch in midair from under the wing of an airplane. The company previously claimed that the demo “marks the pinnacle of a five-year development program.”

“Launching from Earth into space is incredibly difficult,” he said in a press release. “Thousands of components must all function as expected, while controlling high energy and flying at incredibly high speeds. The vehicle’s structures must be robust enough to tolerate journeys of up to 18,000 mph without disintegrating; the temperatures and pressures of its propellants they cannot be too high or too low; each internal valve must click open and closed in perfect synchronicity … “

Virgin Orbit did not respond to requests for further comment on Monday.

– Jackie Wattles contributed to this report