Hanbit-Nano (space rocket)

History

2025: Rocket crash after launch

On December 22, 2025, immediately after the launch, the first South Korean commercial rocket Hanbit-Nano, a local company Innospace, crashed. As a result of the accident, five small satellites were lost for customers from Brazil and India, as well as three additional payloads to demonstrate technology.

The Hanbit-Nano carrier was launched from the Alcantara Cosmodrome in Brazil. At first, the flight took place in normal mode, but then an anomaly was "recorded." As a result, the rocket caught fire and crashed to the ground. It is emphasized that there are no victims or signs of damage to objects in the fall zone.

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Фото: Innospace

The launch was originally scheduled for December 17, 2025, but Innospace postponed it several times due to technical problems and unfavorable weather forecasts. The startup does not disclose the reasons for the crash.

Innospace was founded in 2017; its staff has about 260 employees. The Hanbit-Nano is a two-stage rocket designed to launch a payload weighing up to 90 kilograms into a solar-synchronous orbit. The first stage is equipped with a 25-ton thrust engine that runs on liquid oxygen and paraffin. The second stage, depending on the customer's requirements, can use one of two power plants - on liquid oxygen and paraffin or on liquid oxygen and liquid methane.

In August 2023, Innospace signed a multi-year agreement with Australian Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA), which owns the Arnhem Space Center, Australia's first commercial spaceport. As part of the treaty, Innospace expects to use the site to launch its missiles. In addition, Innospace is exploring strategic options for using additional launch sites in Europe, in particular the Annøya spaceport in Norway.^[1]

Notes