The Korea Aerospace Research Institute(KARI) plans to conduct an engine combustion test in the second half of the year for the first stage of the nation’s next space rocket that is set to be launched next year.

According to the head of KARI’s launcher assurance team, Cho Sang-yeon, last Friday, the institute will carry out the test for the first stage of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2(KSLV-2) in the latter half of the year after completing a water test in August.  

Cho said the combustion test will be carried out after devising a qualification model of the first stage of the rocket which will be powered by four engines with 75 tons of thrust.  

The institute is planning to launch the KSLV-2, also known as “Nuri,” at the Naro Space Center next February and October to put a one-and-a-half ton satellite into Earth’s orbit. 

Nuri is roughly 47 meters long and weighs 200 tons, with a maximum diameter of three-point-three meters.  

It will be powered by four engines with 75 tons of thrust in the first stage, a single 75-ton-thrust engine in the second stage and an engine with seven tons of thrust in the third stage.