ⓒKBS News

South Korea successfully tested a locally developed booster rocket engine as part of a project to produce its first homegrown space vehicle.

Launched at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 4 p.m. Wednesday, a test rocket propelled by a single 75-ton engine flew around 430 kilometers before safely landing in waters southeast of Jeju Island.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute said the test was a success given that combustion of the engine lasted for 151 seconds, longer than the initial target of 140 seconds. The rocket also reached an altitude of 209 kilometers, which was 29 kilometers higher than the threshold for success.