10.01.2026
Credit: Atlantic Spaceport Consortium
South Korean launch services provider Innospace has signed an agreement with the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC) to conduct flights of its Hanbit rocket family from the Malbusca Spaceport on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria.
The Atlantic Spaceport Consortium was founded in 2019 with the aim of establishing a commercial launch facility on the island of Santa Maria, around 1,500 kilometres off the coast of Portugal. In August 2025, Portugal’s Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), the country’s primary space authority, granted the consortium a licence to build and operate the facility. This licence is currently valid for a period of five years.
In July 2025, just prior to receiving its spaceport licence, the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium signed an agreement with Polish suborbital launch services provider SpaceForest. The agreement covers a single flight of its Perun rocket, which is expected to take place in 2026.
On 8 January, the Malbusca Spaceport secured its first tenant aiming for orbital launches, with the consortium signing an agreement with South Korea’s Innospace. The agreement is expected to cover operations up until 2030, with an initial launch expected from the island in 2026.
“Innospace’s decision to launch from Santa Maria is a strong signal of international confidence in Portugal’s space ambitions,” said Ricardo Conde, President of the Portuguese Space Agency. “This agreement helps accelerate the path towards safe, sustainable, and regulated orbital launch services from the Azores.”
According to Innospace CEO Soojong Kim, the agreement represents the company’s “first launch site in Europe.” This appears to call into question its involvement with Andoya Space in Norway. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Andoya Space in January 2022 to launch from its planned spaceport, which was officially opened in November 2023. Innospace also lists Andoya Space as one of its official launch sites on its website. In addition to its European presence, Innospace also has launch facilities in Brazil and Australia.
Quelle: European Spaceflight LTD