SEOUL, December 23 (AJP) -South Korean space startup Innospace said Tuesday that its Hanbit-Nano rocket lifted off normally from Brazil but crashed about 30 seconds later after an in-flight anomaly, ending the country’s first attempt by a private firm to place customer satellites into orbit.
The two-stage Hanbit-Nano vehicle launched at 10:13 p.m. Monday local time (10:13 a.m. Tuesday in Korea) from Alcantara Space Center, the company said. The first-stage engine ignited as planned and the rocket initially gained altitude, but telemetry detected an abnormal signal roughly half a minute after liftoff, prompting mission termination.
The vehicle fell within a designated ground safety zone, Innospace said, adding that there were no casualties or secondary damage. A fireball was visible after impact on a YouTube livestream, which was cut shortly afterward. The mission was ended under internationally compliant safety procedures coordinated with the Brazilian Air Force, the company said.
The launch had been billed as South Korea’s first contracted satellite launch by a private operator. Hanbit-Nano was carrying eight payloads weighing about 18 kilograms in total—five small satellites for customers in Brazil and India, and three experimental devices—bound for a 300-kilometer low-Earth orbit.
Hanbit-Nano uses a hybrid engine delivering about 25 tons of thrust on the first stage, while the second stage is powered by a liquid methane-oxygen engine, a technology Innospace is developing with an eye toward reusability. The launch had been postponed three times from its original Nov. 22 date.
Innospace said it is reviewing flight data to determine the precise cause of the failure and will disclose findings after analysis. The company said it plans to attempt another launch after identifying the issue and implementing technical improvements.
Shares of KOSDAQ-listed Innospace also crashed to close at 10,710 won ($7.2) after losing 28 percent.
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