Brazil’s First Commercial Rocket Launch From Alcântara Postponed to Friday After Technical Issue

Overview

• Innospace moved the HANBIT‑Nano attempt to December 19 at 15:34 Brasília time after detecting an issue in the first‑stage oxidant cooling system during final inspections on December 16.
• The company says only components of the cooling unit need replacement and reports no structural defects, noting the work can be done with the rocket on the pad.
• The mission, coordinated with Brazil’s Air Force and space agency at the Alcântara launch center, would be the country’s first commercial rocket launch from its territory.
• The flight is slated to carry eight payloads—five small satellites and three experiments—including UFSC’s FloripaSat‑2A/2B, UFMA’s Jussara‑K and PION‑BR2, AEB’s SNI‑GNSS, India’s Solaras‑S2, and a Castro Leite inertial navigation system.
• FAB and AEB say infrastructure and teams remain ready under Operação Spaceward, with the published launch window running from December 16 to 22 and a workforce of roughly 400 personnel on site.