The South Korean company Innospace has informed the FAB (Brazilian Air Force) and the AEB (Brazilian Space Agency) that, for technical reasons, it will not make the first attempt to launch the Hanbit-Nano rocket at the CLA (Alcântara Launch Center), in Maranhão, this Wednesday (17).
The first launch of satellites into Earth orbit from Brazilian territory was scheduled for 3:45 p.m., when the South Korean company’s rocket would begin its flight. A new attempt is planned for Friday (19), at 3:34 p.m.
Innospace said the postponement was to ensure sufficient time to replace a component of the refrigeration unit of the first stage oxidizer supply system. An anomaly was identified during final launch inspections.
In a press release published early this Wednesday morning, the FAB declared that it was maintaining its infrastructures, systems and technical teams operational, “guaranteeing all the necessary support to carry out the launch, in coordination with the other organizations involved”.
“The issue requires replacement of a specific component of the refrigeration unit and does not indicate any structural defect in the launcher,” the company said.
The replacement can be carried out with the vehicle still on the launch pad and the operation can therefore continue on Friday.
The launch brings together around 400 Brazilian and South Korean professionals. Initially scheduled for November 22, the flight was postponed. According to the FAB, the date was changed so that new safety tests could be carried out.
The rocket will carry eight payloads, developed by entities in Brazil and India, with a combined mass of 22 kg. If all goes well, they should be placed in a low Earth orbit with an altitude of 300 kilometers and an inclination of 40 degrees.
The vehicle is 22 meters high, weighs 30 tonnes, can reach around 30,000 km/h and its development began in 2023, when the prototype was tested at the CLA during Operation Astrolábio.
History of Alcantara
The CLA, a facility operated by the FAB, serves as the primary platform for space launches in the country.
This is where the three attempts to launch the VLS-1 (Satellite Launch Vehicle) took place, in 1997, 1999 and 2003, all unsuccessful, the last one even before takeoff, with a catastrophic fire that killed 21 technicians and engineers from the Brazilian space program and ended up putting a premature end to the project.
Since then, the CLA has only served suborbital launches, mainly with the VSB-30 sounding rocket, developed by the IAE (Institute of Aeronautics and Space) in partnership with the DLR (German Space Agency).
The last launch of this vehicle in Alcântara took place in 2022. The vehicle is also used for missions carried out from the Esrange space center, Sweden, the last of which took place last year.
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