The three-stage rocket, more than 47 meters (154 feet) long and weighing 200 tons, was launched from the Naro space center in the southern coastal region of the country at 16:00 local time.
It has been supplemented by five satellites that will carry out Earth observation missions, such as atmospheric observation, for up to two years, as well as a 1.3-ton model, according to the country’s Ministry of Science.
“The road from South Korea to space is now open,” President Yun Suk Yel said after the launch. “This is the result of the difficult challenges of the last 30 years. Now our Korean people and the dreams and hopes of our young people will reach space.”
Prior to South Korea’s mission on Tuesday, only Russia, the United States, the European Union, China, Japan and India have developed a space launch vehicle capable of carrying a satellite weighing more than 1 tonne, according to the Korean Space Research Institute (KARI). ).
South Korea first attempted to launch a fictitious satellite with the Nuri rocket last October. The experiment failed when the rocket’s third-stage engine shut down and the fictitious satellite failed to reach low Earth orbit.
Emerging space industry
South Korea is struggling to keep up with its Asian neighbors in the space race.
Its first two launches in 2009 and 2010 used engines developed in Russia, and both failed to reach orbit. In 2013, South Korea finally managed to send a launch vehicle into low Earth orbit – but this was also developed with the help of Russian technology.
Since 2010, South Korea has invested nearly 2 trillion Korean won (about $ 1.5 billion) in building the three-level Nuri – which means “world” in Korean. Nuri is the first rocket in the country to use its own technology, opening the door to a number of future satellites and missions.
A total of 300 South Korean companies have been involved in developing the missile, according to KARI.
KARI chief An Sang-il said earlier that the rocket’s success would allow South Korea more autonomy in its space program.
“In the past, Cuban satellites have been launched with missiles in other countries, but this launch will allow us to load Korean Cuban satellites into a rocket also made in Korea,” he told a briefing in April. “We can launch our satellites according to our own needs and at the right time for us from this launch.
After a failed attempt last year, then-President Moon Jae-in said South Korea planned to launch the missile five more times by 2027.
The country has other space projects in the works: its first lunar orbiter, developed in partnership with NASA, is expected to launch in August next year. It will orbit the moon for about a year, marking the first South Korean mission to travel out of Earth’s orbit.
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