The launch of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2(KSLV-2), also known as “Nuri,” from the Naro Space Center will be postponed from February next year to October, while a second launch to put a one-and-a-half ton satellite into Earth’s orbit will be pushed back from October 2021 to May 2022.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the revised dates on Tuesday during a meeting of a presidential committee on space development. 

The committee decided to change the previous launch dates after taking into account an assessment by an evaluation team comprised of 15 academic and industrial experts. The team concluded that the Nuri’s first launch should take place next October and its second in May 2022 for a better success rate and stable development. 

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.

The ministry said the development of the first-stage rocket for Nuri was what largely led to the adjustment in the launch dates.