South Korea succeeded in launching its first homegrown space launch vehicle in the summer, becoming the seventh country in the world to launch a satellite weighing more than one ton using domestically developed technologies.

The Nuri space rocket, also known as the Korea Space Launch Vehicle Two, blasted off from the Naro Space Center in the country’s southwestern coastal village of Goheung at 3:59 p.m. on June 21.

Fifteen minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff, the rocket flew to a target altitude of 700 kilometers and placed a one-point-three-ton verification satellite into the intended orbit, which then successfully established two-way communication with the control center.

South Korea initially sought to achieve the goal last October but failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit after the rocket’s third-stage engine burned prematurely.

South Korea has steadily honed its space development capability, launching its first scientific rocket, the Korean Sounding Rocket(KSR) One, in 1993. 2002 saw the launch of the KSR-III, South Korea’s first sounding rocket propelled by a liquid propellant propulsion system, and in 2013, the country launched the Korea Space Launch Vehicle One(KSLV-1), known as Naro, which was developed jointly with Russia.

Nuri’s key technologies and equipment were all domestically developed, including a 75-ton liquid engine whose efficiency was verified with the successful launch of Nuri. As a result, South Korea will now be able to emerge as a key player in space development as well as in the commercial satellite market.

The government plans to launch satellites using a Nuri rocket four more times through 2027 and is aiming to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon in 2032 and on Mars in 2045.

Photo : KBS News, YONHAP News

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