Korea’s first private satellite rocket HANBIT-TLV successfully completed a launch and flight test, according to its developer Innospace on Tuesday, opening the way for the company to put a small satellite into orbit.

Aerospace company Innospace fired the test rocket from the Alcantara Space Center in northern Brazil at 2:52 p.m. on Sunday, local time. Following engine combustion for 106 seconds, the rocket had a 4-minute-33-second flight before it fell within a safe zone in Brazilian waters, according to the company.

The engine combustion was 12 seconds shorter than the initial target of 118 seconds, but the company was satisfied with normal operation and thrust stability of the rocket during the flight, based on its data analysis. The rocket maker compiled data during the flight, including pressure in the combustion chamber, output from the electric pumps, control system operations, and flight path and orientation control.

The Brazilian Department of Aerospace Science and Technology’s inertial navigation system, SISNAV, onboard the HANBIT-TLV launcher, also successfully operated and complied flight data.

Innospace has now proven its capacity as Korea’s first civilian rocket maker to launch a commercial rocket, the company said. The company has set a goal for its commercial satellite launch services in 2024.

“The successful test launch of HANBIT-TLV has shown that we’re capable of making and firing rockets independently, and this will give us a chance to step into the global space market,” Innospace Chief Executive Officer Kim Soo-jong said. “We’ll continue to upgrade our research capacity and seek more business opportunities in the space industry.”

Innospace’s HANBIT-TLV is a test vehicle to try out the company’s hybrid engines. Innospace developed its hybrid engines with a simple structure that runs on solid fuel and liquid oxidizing agents. The solid fuel is made with paraffin and gives the engines a faster combustion rate, compared with other solid fuels. It can also give the solid propellant a better thrust control, according to the company.

The next step for the aerospace company is to prepare for the launch of HANBIT-Nano that will carry satellites.

HANBIT-Nano is a two-stage satellite launch vehicle that can carry a 50-kilogram payload into a Sun-synchronous orbit. Once it passes a test launch scheduled for next year, the maker of the vehicle will be able to show its commercial capacity to put small satellites into orbit.

By Pulse

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