Launch of Innospace's Hanbit-TLV rocket called off due to technical glitch

As the launch window was open until Wednesday, the test launch is postponed indefinitely. Innospace said that it will designate a new launch date after the technical issue is fixed.

Innospace's Hanbit-TLV test rocket at the Alcantara Launch Center in northern Brazil. [INNOSPACE]

The launch of the Hanbit-TLV, a test vehicle developed by Innospace, was called off at the last minute due to a glitch in the external safety management system.

As the launch window was open until Wednesday, the test launch is postponed indefinitely. Innospace said that it will designate a new launch date after the technical issue is fixed.

Innospace, a local start-up, was originally scheduled to launch its technology demonstration rocket on Wednesday, from Alcantara Launch Center in northern Brazil.

The rocket was fully ready for launch at 7:02 a.m., but a glitch was detected in a safety management system outside the rocket.

The Brazilian government and Innospace are currently looking into the cause of the glitch.

Hanbit-TLV, the test vehicle, is a 16.3-meter (53.4 foot) 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.

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