Innospace HANBIT Nano Rocket Crashes in Brazil During Debut Launch

The HANBIT Nano rocket operated by Innospace Co. lifted from Brazil’s Alcantara Space Center at 10:13 p.m. local time on Dec. 22, 2025 and suffered an in flight anomaly shortly after liftoff, crashing within the ground safety zone. Company livestream footage and circulated images showed flames trailing the vehicle soon after launch before the feed was cut off, following a brief on screen message that read, "We experienced an anomaly during the flight." There were no casualties and no additional damage reported.

Public accounts differ on the precise moment of failure. Some reports said the vehicle "fell to the ground" about 30 seconds after liftoff, while others described the malfunction as occurring about a minute after liftoff or more generally "shortly after liftoff." Visual material supplied by Innospace captured the early flame event and the abrupt suspension of the company’s live broadcast.

The mission carried customer payloads that included five small satellites for operators in Brazil and India and three technology demonstration packages. Public descriptions varied as to the intended orbital destination, with some accounts citing a 300 kilometer low Earth orbit and others identifying a sun synchronous orbit as the target. Innospace had described the HANBIT Nano’s capability as up to 90 kilograms to a sun synchronous orbit from Brazil.

The HANBIT Nano is a two stage vehicle using a 25 ton thrust hybrid engine on the first stage and a methane liquid oxygen engine on the second stage. The Dec. 22 event was scheduled as the company’s first commercial launch window from Brazil, and had been billed as the firm’s attempt to place customer satellites into orbit for the first time. Public timelines show the liftoff occurred at least several days later than an initial schedule, and that the mission had been postponed multiple times from an originally planned Nov. 22 date.

Innospace is listed on the Seoul exchange under the ticker 462350.KQ. The company issued the livestream message about the anomaly but has not provided a technical explanation, a root cause finding, or a timetable for an investigation. Brazilian launch site authorities and Innospace have said the vehicle fell within the established safety perimeter, a factor that appears to have prevented injuries or collateral damage.

The failure underscores the persistent technical and operational risks facing the expanding commercial small launch sector. Companies are racing to offer dedicated rides for small satellites, a market that prizes rapid cadence and low cost, but those pressures can amplify the consequences of schedule slips and early flight failures. Regulatory scrutiny of foreign and private launches from overseas sites has intensified in recent years as governments and customers seek assurances on range safety and payload protection.

For customers whose satellites were aboard, the loss will mean satellite replacements, insurance claims and program delays, and for Innospace the incident will likely oblige a detailed anomaly investigation and pause in flight operations. The company and Brazilian authorities are expected to release formal findings in the coming weeks after on site inspections and telemetry reviews.