South Korean space launch startup Innospace saw its shares tumble more than 20% in its first day of trading on July 2, closing at 34,450 won ($24.80) on the KOSDAQ exchange. The decline from its IPO price of 43,300 won marked a challenging debut for the company, which raised 57.6 billion won through its initial public offering.
“Innospace is committed to accelerating the development of our launch vehicles to achieve early market entry and providing stable, customized launch services,” said Soojong Kim, CEO of Innospace, highlighting the company's ambitions despite the market setback.
The company, which became the first listed private space launch vehicle firm in South Korea, has yet to attempt an orbital launch but achieved a successful suborbital flight from Brazil's Alcântara Space Center in March 2023. Details about the peak altitude of the Hanbit-TLV rocket used in the test were not disclosed.
Innospace plans to launch its Hanbit-Nano vehicle for small satellites into sun-synchronous orbits starting from the first half of 2025, following recent contract agreements with international partners.
“We are expanding vehicle production and incorporating reusability into our vehicles,” Innospace stated, indicating its strategic focus post-IPO. The company also aims to develop hybrid engines and a liquid-propellant engine for future missions from multiple global spaceports.