S. Korean startup Innospace seeks to launch its test launch vehicle HANBIT-TLV next week

▲ This photo provided by Innospace shows HANBIT-TLV, its suborbital test launch vehicle, erected at the launch pad at the Alcantara Space Center in northern Brazil. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

space startup-launch plan

S. Korean startup Innospace seeks to launch its test launch vehicle HANBIT-TLV next week

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- Innospace, a South Korean space startup, said Friday that it is planning to launch its suborbital test launch vehicle, HANBIT-TLV, next week.

"If there're no problems in preparation and weather conditions, we will push for the launch on Monday 6 a.m. (local time) at the Alcantara Space Center," the company said in a statement.

The rocket has arrived at the space center in northern Brazil after leaving South Korea on Dec. 3, according to Innospace.

HANBIT-TLV is now ready for a final test to simulate the entire steps of a launch just before the actual firing next week, it added.

The company said the planned test launch of the 8.4-ton thrust single stage hybrid rocket will verify the flight performance focusing on the optimal operation and stable thrust of the hybrid rocket engine.

The HANBIT-TLV, the first civilian small satellite launcher in South Korea, is a test project to validate the first stage engine of HANBIT-Nano, a commercial rocket for small satellites capable of carrying a 50 kilogram payload.

In April, Innospace signed an agreement with the Brazilian Department of Aerospace Science and Technology to launch the latter's inertial navigation system, called SISNAV, being carried onboard as a payload of HANBIT-TLV.

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