On December 22, 2025, South Korean startup Innospace experienced a setback when its inaugural Hanbit-Nano rocket launch ended in failure shortly after takeoff. The rocket lifted off from the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil at 8:13 p.m. EST but crashed back to Earth approximately one minute into its flight.
This launch marked a significant milestone as it was the first attempt by a South Korean company to achieve an orbital launch. Despite a normal ascent, an anomaly occurred around 50 seconds into the flight, leading to the rocket's explosion. Innospace has yet to disclose further details regarding the cause of the failure, having stopped its live webcast shortly after the incident.
The Hanbit-Nano is designed to carry payloads of up to 198 pounds (90 kilograms) into sun-synchronous orbit, with five small satellites from Brazil and India onboard for this mission. Founded in 2017, Innospace aims to advance its launch capabilities, with ongoing developments for larger rockets known as Hanbit-Micro and Hanbit-Mini.