Private space launch corporations INNOSPACE said on the 23rd that it completed the first-stage qualification test for its first commercial launch vehicle, "Hanbit-Nano (HANBIT-Nano)," at its own test facility, the Goheung Integrated Test Site, on 18th.
The successful first-stage qualification test that day means it has cleared the final hurdle of prelaunch ground testing and is now entering full-fledged launch preparations.
Hanbit-Nano is a two-stage space launch vehicle, with one 25-ton-thrust hybrid rocket engine on the first stage and one 3-ton-thrust liquid-methane rocket engine on the second stage. INNOSPACE, through the successful test that day, finalized verification of the performance and reliability of the 25-ton-thrust hybrid rocket engine, the stability of the oxidizer supply system, structural integrity, and the launch vehicle integrated control system. The second-stage qualification test applying the liquid-methane rocket engine was completed in Jul.
INNOSPACE succeeded in launching the test vehicle "Hanbit-TLV," equipped with a 15-ton-thrust hybrid rocket engine, in Mar. 2023, the first among domestic private corporations. Since then, during development of the first commercial launch vehicle, Hanbit-Nano, it expanded the main engine thrust to the 25-ton class to increase payload capacity and strengthen market competitiveness, achieving technological advancement. It also applied an integrated dome composite combustion chamber to achieve both weight reduction compared with metal and high internal-pressure performance.
Chief Executive Kim Su-jong of INNOSPACE said, "INNOSPACE has completed all technology validation for its first commercial launch vehicle, Hanbit-Nano, and now stands on the verge of the moment of challenge for full-fledged market entry," adding, "We will make thorough preparations so that the scheduled launch at the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil can be carried out successfully."
INNOSPACE is pushing to conduct the first commercial launch of Hanbit-Nano at Brazil's Alcantara Space Center in the second half of this year. The launch schedule is expected to be announced immediately after the final approval of the launch permit overseen by the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA).