The Hanbit-Nano rocket, from South Korean startup Innospace, experienced an anomaly less than two minutes after takeoff from the Alcântara Launch Center in Maranhão on the night of December 22, 2025, thwarting what would have been the first orbital launch in Brazilian history. The vehicle was lost during the first stage's propulsion phase, and the onboard payloads were not recovered. Despite the setback, the incident is seen as normal for a new launcher's initial test.
The Hanbit-Nano launch took place at 10:13 PM on December 22, 2025, from the Alcântara Launch Center (CLA), managed by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB). Designed for light orbital missions, the 21-meter, two-stage rocket—the first stage powered by a hybrid paraffin and liquid oxygen engine, the second by methane and liquid oxygen—reached the speed of sound (Mach 1) and maximum aerodynamic pressure before the failure, which cut off the transmission.
Operation Spaceward, in partnership with Innospace, faced delays: originally set for December 17, it was rescheduled to the 19th and then the 22nd due to issues like power shortages at the platform, a valve failure, and bad weather, including rain in the afternoon of the launch. Still, about 400 professionals, including 300 military personnel, participated in the mission.
The payloads included Brazilian nanosatellites for IoT communication studies, developed by the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), an educational satellite with test technologies like solar panels and navigation instruments, plus messages from local students, including quilombola communities, through the Pion BR2 project by the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), in partnership with the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), UNDP, and PION startup. Sources vary on the exact count: five Brazilian nanosatellites and three experiments, or seven Brazilian and one Indian.
This would have been the first commercial orbital launch from Alcântara, which offers an equatorial advantage (2.3 degrees south), saving fuel due to Earth's rotation. Innospace had successfully tested the suborbital prototype Hanbit-TLV in March 2023 from the same site. Initial failures, like those of the VLS-1 in 1997, 1999, and 2003, are common for new vehicles. Engineers are now analyzing data for future attempts.
