INNOSPACE said it failed to achieve its final goal in Korea's first commercial launch mission but successfully collected flight, propulsion, and operation data that can be obtained only in an actual flight environment. The company said it plans to analyze the circumstances of the flight termination objectively with relevant agencies, and, based on the data secured, quickly carry out technical improvements and additional verification to try again for a commercial launch in the first half of next year.
At 10:13 a.m. on the 23rd (Korea time), INNOSPACE launched its first commercial launch vehicle, Hanbit-Nano, from the Alcântara Space Center in Brazil. Hanbit-Nano lifted off normally and began its planned vertical flight trajectory, but about 30 seconds after liftoff, an anomaly was detected during flight and the launch vehicle fell within the ground safety zone.
Chief Executive Kim Su-jong of INNOSPACE said in a letter to shareholders that "although this launch did not reach the final stage we initially targeted, it is a meaningful outcome that we successfully secured flight, propulsion, and operation data that can only be obtained in an actual flight environment."
Kim said, "This kind of data is difficult to verify with only ground tests or simulations," adding, "It will be a core asset directly used to advance launch vehicle design and enhance operational stability and reliability."
INNOSPACE said it will move quickly to make technical improvements and conduct additional verification based on the data it obtained. Kim said, "We will promptly carry out the necessary improvements based on the data and analysis results, and after sufficient enhancements, we will attempt another commercial launch in the first half of next year."
The company said it is conducting a comprehensive analysis with relevant agencies on how this flight came to an end. Kim said, "We are reviewing flight, measurement, and tracking data from multiple angles and continuing a technical review of the process that led to the end of the mission," adding, "Rather than jumping to a specific cause or conclusion, we are focusing on objectively confirming the phenomena observed in the actual flight environment and verifying them systematically."
He added, "Building on this experience, we will raise the technical completeness another notch and do our best to deliver more stable and meaningful results."