South Korean Startup Innospace Fails on First Orbital Launch Attempt of Hanbit-Nano Rocket

South Korean startup Innospace failed to reach orbit during its first-ever orbital launch attempt on Monday night, marking a major setback for the country's private space ambitions. The company's Hanbit-Nano rocket took off from Brazil's Alcantara Space Center at 8:13 p.m. EST but plummeted back to the earth roughly a minute after departure. The 57-foot-tall rocket was lifting off some small satellites for Brazil and India. The launch was historic as it would have been the first orbital attempt by a South Korean private company, but it was cut short after an anomaly was detected shortly after liftoff.

Innospace's Hanbit-Nano Rocket Suffers Post-Launch Anomaly After Multiple Delays

According to a Space.com report, the rocket's failure occurred shortly after launch, though the exact cause remains unclear. Innospace had not yet issued a full explanation, and it abruptly concluded its live webcast after acknowledging the anomaly. The mission had been delayed several times, first set for Dec. 17, only to be rescheduled because of technical issues and poor weather.

Innospace's in-house two-stage Hanbit-Nano uses LOX-paraffin and paraffin/methane stages, lifting 90-kilogram payloads to sun-synchronous orbit from Brazil for small satellites.

Hanbit-Nano Failure Hits Multi-Payload Mission as Innospace Eyes Larger Launch Vehicles

The failed mission was hauling eight payloads, comprised of five commercial smallsats and three technology demonstration platforms. These payloads represented customers from Brazil and India, revealing Innospace's ‘early global footprints,' considering it is only around two years old. The company was started in 2017 and now has some 260 employees.

Despite Hanbit-Nano's failure, Innospace is developing Hanbit-Micro and Hanbit-Mini, as early launch attempts often face setbacks before reliability.