South Korea prepares test launch of its first domestic satellite
- In Reports
- 12:16 PM, Oct 21, 2021
- Myind Staff
On Thursday, some officials indicated that South Korea is preparing to test-launch its first domestically produced space rocket to set a milestone in their satellite launch program.
If weather and other conditions remain favourable to launch then the three-stage Nuri rocket is scheduled to be launched at around 4pm with an aim to deliver a dummy payload - a 1.5-ton block of stainless steel and aluminum - into orbit 600 to 800 kilometers (372 to 497 miles) above Earth.
While Nuri is powered by liquid propellants that need to be fueled shortly before launch, the South Koreans plan to develop a solid-fuel space launch rocket by 2024, which possibly could be prepared for launch more quickly and also be more cost effective.
South Korea's science ministry said engineers completed the 47-meter rocket on a launch pad at the Naro Space Center, on a small island off its southern coast. Naro Space Center is the country's lone spaceport. If successful, South Korea will become the 10th nation to send a satellite into space with its own technology.
This can improve the ability of the nation to include plans for sending more advanced communications satellites and acquiring its own military intelligence satellites. The country is also hoping to send a probe to the moon by 2030.
Scientists and engineers at the Korea Aerospace Institute plan to test Nuri in another launch with a dummy device in May 2022.
In a speech to Pyongyang's rubber-stamp parliament last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the US and South Korea of "destroying the stability and balance" in the region with their allied military activities and a US-led "excessive arms buildup" in the South.
Image Courtesy: The Financial Express
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