Korea Succeeds in Launching Homegrown Space Rocket

  • By Lee Young-wan

    June 22, 2022 09:26

    Korea on Tuesday succeeded in launching a fully homegrown rocket into space and became the seventh country in the world to put a satellite into orbit with its own technology. The country began developing the Nuri in 2010.

    The Nuri "was successfully launched from the Naro Space Center in South Jeolla Province at 4 p.m. and placed a dummy satellite in orbit 700 km above the Earth 15 minutes and 46 seconds after launch," the Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday.

    Korea's first homegrown space rocket Nuri lifts off at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province on Tuesday.

    The three-stage rocket, officially called the Korea Space Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-II) "successfully communicated with the King Sejong Station in Antarctica to verify its location."

    The rocket was designed to put a 1.5-ton satellite into orbit at an altitude of 600 km to 800 km. Development cost W1.96 trillion (US$1=W1,294).

    The Korea Aerospace Research Institute plans to launch four more Nuris from 2023 to 2027. An upgraded version will be used to send a landing module to the moon in 2030.

    "Now a path to space has been opened from" Korea, President Yoon Suk-yeol said after watching the launch at his office in Seoul. "It is the result of overcoming tough challenges over 30 years... [for Koreans] to reach out to space." He added the government will establish an aerospace agency to support the industry.

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