Korean Space Rocket Set for Launch in October

Korea's first fully homegrown space rocket Nuri will blast off into space on Oct. 21. The Nuri will put a 1.5-ton satellite into orbit 600-800 km above the earth.

The country has spent around W2 trillion since 2010 on the development (US$1=W1,163).

An earlier Korean rocket, Naro, was successfully launched in 2013 but the booster was made in Russia. The Nuri's launch was postponed twice due to technical glitches.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute will test launch the space rocket twice to check its functions. The first will involve a 1.5-ton dummy satellite and the second a 1.3-ton dummy satellite and a functioning 0.2-ton satellite.

But the final launch date could change depending on the weather conditions, and the institute will first check if the rocket works in freezing temperatures.