Virgin Orbit Would Be The First Private Company To Reach Mars

Virgin Orbit along with the Poland-based satellite firm SatRevolution have formed a partnership that aims to send the tiny spacecraft to Mars in the near future. As expected, the first CubeSat mission will be launched soon in 2022.  

It is considered to follow the footsteps of NASA's InSight mission that has managed to send two interplanetary CubeSats to Mars. With its new endeavors, Virgin Orbit is confident to launch its own interplanetary CubeSats into space with the support of its first LauncherOne rocket. In the meantime, the company's vice president of special projects Will Pomerantz emphasized the capabilities that small satellites can bring when they reach Mars. These include taking photos, finding water sources and researching the atmosphere there. The CubeSats may also be needed in the examination of other planets such as Venus, as well as a series of asteroids located in the asteroid belt. 

Among its missions, completing the LauncherOne system is prioritized first. The rocket with a length of 70 feet will fall from the carrier of Boeing 747, which is known as the Virgin Orbit's "Cosmic Girl". Then, it will break apart in the air. Though the rocket has finished the drop experiments and "captive carry", yet it has been used for the first flight for testing. Apparently, LauncherOne will decide the success or failure of these Mars missions. 

If the mission turns out successful, Virgin Orbit will be regarded as the first commercial company that can go into deep space with its own air-launch system. This will also mark a milestone for private companies whose much concentration is on air launches, which have been underrated for low-Earth orbit travels.

In fact, air launches demand less amount of shielding and fuel as compared to other traditional launches. In addition, they can take place anywhere as they are not limited by weather or any launch sites, especially with smallsats. This, overall, can open up new opportunities for the commercial space industry to get more payloads into deep space and conquer new locations.