Posted: Sun, Dec 28, 2025, 9:46 AM ET (1446 GMT)
The first launch of a small South Korean rocket failed shortly after liftoff Monday. Innospace’s first Hanbit-Nano rocket lifted off at 8:13 pm EST (0113 GMT Tuesday) from the Alcântara launch center in Brazil. However, the rocket malfunctioned about 30 seconds after liftoff, crashing into a designated safety zone near the pad and exploding. Innospace released few details about the failure. The small rocket was carrying eight smallsats and hosted payloads from customers in Brazil, India and Korea. Shares in Innospace fell sharply on a Korean stock exchange Tuesday.

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