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Development of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2, the first that was to be wholly Korean-made, has been shelved as import of Russian rocket technologies has become impossible. Development was expected to begin immediately after the launch of KSLV-1, a small launch vehicle that will carry a satellite into orbit.
This will likely create more than a year's vacuum in space research here, making it inevitable to revise the government's space development plan, including the launch of a home-grown lunar probe.
The Chosun Ilbo has learned that the government planned to stop the budget for the KSLV-2 in 2009 and decided to conduct a fresh feasibility study after a preliminary feasibility study early this year by the Strategy and Finance Ministry concluded there were problems getting hold of technologies.
Korea imported a first-stage liquid fuel rocket, the core component of the KSLV-1 that will be launched from Russia in June. The KSLV-2 was to be the first wholly Korean-made launch rocket. In 2007, the government announced an ambitious space development program, including a satellite with a Korean-made launch vehicle by 2017 and a lunar probe by 2025.
Dr. Chang Young-keun of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation, said development of the KSLV-2 was premised on the possible take-over of first-stage rocket technologies from Russia. "But a complete revision has become inevitable as Russia has refused to transfer technologies citing the Technology Safeguard Agreement."
Experts say the costs have been snowballing while the space development plan has been delayed due to ambitious goals set without careful preliminary studies.
The KSLV-1 was to be launched in 2005 but project costs ballooned from W359.4 billion (US$1=W1,478) to W509.7 billion when the launch has been postponed three times.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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