Glitch Casts Doubt on Space Rocket Launch

The scheduled second launch attempt of Korea's space rocket Naro on Wednesday may have to be postponed after an unexpected glitch in the electrical system led to a five-hour delay in the rollout process.

Engineers on Monday attempted to link the KSLV-1 rocket with the erector to raise it vertically for launch, but unstable electric signals after the rocket was attached to the pad's cable mast delayed them. The rocket was finally raised on the launch pad at around 8:55 p.m., five hours later than the scheduled time.

"We will try our best to complete the preparations in cooperation with Russian researchers, including the final rehearsal on Tuesday," said Lee Joo-jin, president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. "We'll meet Tuesday morning to decide whether the launch can take place on Wednesday."