Private company rocket launch delayed for a second time

The launch of the Hanbit-TLV, a test vehicle developed by Innospace, was called off due to a technical issue.

Innospace's Hanbit-TLV test rocket at the Alcantara Launch Center in northern Brazil. The launch, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, was delayed indefinitely due to a technical issue with the cooling system. [INNOSPACE]

The launch of the Hanbit-TLV, a test vehicle developed by Innospace, was called off due to a technical issue.

The company said that it will reschedule the launch after the malfunction is fixed.

Innospace was originally scheduled to launch its technology demonstration rocket at 6 a.m., Tuesday, from Alcântara Launch Center in northern Brazil.

A problem related to a cooling-pump during pre-launch examination after the Hanbit-TLV rocket was raised to the vertical position on the launch pad. Innospace decided at 4 a.m. to delay the launch.

The rocket was transported back to the assembly center from the launch pad.

Hanbit-TLV, the test vehicle, is a 16.3-meter single-stage rocket designed to verify the performance of a 15-ton-thrust rocket engine developed by Innospace.

The rocket was to be fired to an altitude of 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) in a suborbital test.

The Sejong-based company aims to develop Korea’s first private commercial satellite launcher, the Hanbit-Nano, with data collected from the test launch.

Hanbit-Nano will be a two-stage rocket equipped with a 15-ton-thrust hybrid engine, powered by solid fuel and a liquid oxidizer.

This was the second time the launch was delayed.

The original launch date was Monday, but was delayed by a day due to weather conditions at the launch site.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]