South Korean launch company INNOSPACE says its low Earth orbit launch services have been selected as a recommended offset item for industrial cooperation in the first round of 2026 by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR), marking the first time launch services have appeared on the list since the program began in 2017.
Offsets are trade arrangements tied to South Korea’s overseas purchases of weapons or military equipment, where foreign contractors provide benefits such as technology transfer or purchases of domestic products. As offset activity has expanded beyond strictly military goods, MOTIR designates and manages recommended items with both civilian and military applications in sectors including aerospace. According to the company, candidate items are assessed on product excellence, suitability, company capabilities, export impact and policy alignment, and selected items are recommended to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and promoted to foreign companies with offset obligations.
INNOSPACE said recommended items in the space sector have previously focused on products such as launch vehicle components and satellite onboard equipment. The company said the inclusion of launch services could enable space transportation services—placing satellites into orbit—to be used as part of industrial cooperation between countries, allowing foreign suppliers to South Korea to apply INNOSPACE launch services toward meeting offset obligations.
The company said its HANBIT-Nano launch vehicle was designed to be ITAR-free, meaning it is not subject to the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which it said could reduce export control constraints for its international launch services business.
INNOSPACE also said its hybrid rocket engines use solid paraffin fuel, which it described as carrying a low risk of explosion, supporting storage and transport and enabling operations across multiple launch sites.
“This selection is meaningful because it presents space launch services from a private South Korean company as a new area of industrial cooperation between countries through offsets,” said Soojong Kim, founder and CEO of INNOSPACE. “Now that our launch services have been recognized for their potential in export cooperation, we expect to draw on our proprietary launch vehicle development and production capabilities and our global launch site network to expand partnerships with international defense and aerospace companies, win new customers and identify new business opportunities in the global market.”