An independent panel of experts investigating the failure of Korea's first satellite launch rocket earlier this year announced on Thursday that the cause was an abnormal separation of the nose fairing assembly which covered the satellite payload. It caused by either a mechanical problem or a delayed detonation of a charge that facilitates the separation. The panel said no other abnormalities occurred during the launch.

If that analysis is correct, then there is a good chance that the failure of the Naro or KSLV-1 rocket to put its satellite payload into orbit was due to a mistake in the portion of the rocket that Korean scientists were in charge of.

The panel promised to continue investigating by focusing on the mechanical structure of the fairing separation device, the explosives that were used and the electrical system. Early this year, the U.S. Taurus rocket also experienced a failed separation of a fairing, but scientists were unable to find the cause. Experts in the U.S., which is the world's leader in space technology, spent five months searching for the cause but ended up wrapping up their probe after offering just four possible hypotheses. But such probes could offer valuable technological information and experience, and for a country like Korea, which is taking its first steps into space exploration, a thorough probe of the causes of failures is vital.

After the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in flight in 1986 killing the crew, the U.S. formed a presidential committee to investigate the cause headed by former secretary of state William Rogers. The commission spent five months investigating the accident and was able to pinpoint not only the exact cause but also flaws in the management process at NASA. Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman was part of the commission and discovered the flaw in a component that was supposed to keep the fuel from leaking. America's unchallenged strength in space exploration was built through processes like that.

According to a contract signed by Korea and Russia, a failure in one of two launches of the Naro rocket entitles Korea to one more launch free of charge. Naro's launch in August was a clear failure, but Russia has been reluctant to admit that, calling it a "half-success." Korea must not set a precedent where unreasonable demands replace proper scientific conclusions and the fulfillment of contractual obligations.

Naro should be seen as a test rocket that delivers a small 100 kg satellite into orbit. Korea paid a huge amount of money to Russia, so it should exercise its rights and privileges, but that is not the main objective. Ten years from now, Korea plans to launch a home-grown rocket -- the KSLV-2 -- carrying a 1.5 ton commercial satellite. The success or failure of its space program hinges on that launch. But there are concerns that this may not be possible in just a decade, since Korea has yet to build even a single-stage booster engine.

Qian Xuesen, the father of China's space program who died on Oct. 31, had a favorite motto: "If foreigners can do it, so can the Chinese." Armed with that firm belief, he led China to develop its own atomic bomb in the difficult conditions of the Cultural Revolution. Qian also developed China's own intercontinental ballistic missile and space rocket, enabling the country to become the third country in the world to launch a manned rocket into space. What Korea needs is the firm belief that if foreigners can do it, so can Koreans.

Fortunately, NASA is seeking to expand cooperative projects with foreign countries due to budget cuts resulting from the global financial crisis. Korea may get a small chance to learn space technology from the U.S., which is the most territorial about such knowledge. It cannot afford to miss the chance.