Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok Congratulates on the Successful Launch of 'Hanbit-TLV'

Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok on the 21st expressed a message of “sincere congratulations together with the residents” regarding the success of the domestic space startup Innospace in independently developing and launching the engine verification test launch vehicle ‘Hanbit-TLV.’

Hanbit-TLV, the first private launch vehicle in Korea, was launched at 2:52 PM (local time) on the 19th from the Alc?ntara Space Center in Brazil. The engine burned for 106 seconds, followed by a normal flight for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, and then it safely fell into the designated safety zone in the Brazilian sea.

On the same day, the inertial navigation system ‘SISNAV’ from the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA) under the Brazilian Air Force, which was onboard Hanbit-TLV, successfully secured flight environment operation performance data, confirming the successful completion of the mission.

Governor Kim congratulated, saying, “Through the successful flight of this independently developed test launch vehicle, I hope Innospace, a leading company in hybrid rocket technology, will rise as a global space launch vehicle company.”

With this launch, Innospace has become the first domestic private space launch vehicle company to possess independent engine technology capable of commercial launch services.

Jeonnam Province plans to build various facilities to support space launch vehicle companies by creating a space industry cluster, and will actively cooperate to ensure that various private satellites are launched from Goheung by supporting launch vehicle startup companies like Innospace.

The government (Ministry of Science and ICT) officially designated Jeonnam as a ‘Space Industry Cluster (Launch Vehicle Specialized Zone)’ last December to foster a private-led space industry, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport selected the ‘Goheung Space Launch Vehicle National Industrial Complex’ as a development candidate site on the 15th.

Additionally, Jeonnam Province plans to invest 1.6084 trillion KRW by 2031 in 20 core tasks across 8 fields to establish a ‘Space Launch Vehicle Industry Cluster’ in Goheung, where Korea’s only Naro Space Center and private launch pads, the nation’s best space industry infrastructure, are concentrated, in response to the private-led ‘New Space Era.’

Based on this, they will promote the creation of a specialized industrial complex for the concentration of space launch vehicle companies, build key private space development infrastructure such as private launch pads, combustion test sites, and assembly buildings, establish a comprehensive support center integrating functions like testing, evaluation, and certification, develop a complex space center to support solid launch vehicles, and create a space launch vehicle science complex to raise public interest and acceptance of space.

Governor Kim emphasized, “We will create a space where private launch vehicle companies can freely conduct research and development, testing and evaluation, manufacturing and assembly, and launching centered on the Goheung Naro Space Center,” adding, “Together with private space launch vehicle companies like Innospace, we will nurture Goheung as the center of the space launch vehicle industry.”