Korea Successfully Tests Homegrown Space Rocket Engine

Korea on Wednesday afternoon launched a single-stage rocket with a homegrown engine from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province.

The flight aimed to test a 75-ton liquid-propellant thrust engine. The rocket flew for 151 seconds and reached an altitude of 209 km before falling into waters near Jeju Island 429 km southeast of the launch site.

The rocket will be mounted on the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2), also known as Nuri, which has been under development for eight years with a view to sending a satellite into orbit in 2021.

Vice Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jin-kyu said that the critical engine combustion time surpassed the initial goal of 140 seconds.

Korea is the seventh country in the world to develop a 75-ton liquid-propellant thrust engine after the U.S., Russia, China, Japan, France, and India, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

The country successfully launched its first homegrown space vehicle in January 2013, but the first-stage rocket booster was built in Russia.