SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea is ready for a second take a look at launch of its domestically produced Nuri area rocket on Tuesday, eight months after the primary take a look at efficiently blasted off however failed to put a dummy satellite tv for pc in orbit.
On Monday, the rocket was erected on its launch pad on the Naro House Middle on the southern coast of South Korea. The take a look at had been scheduled for final week, however was scrubbed within the hours earlier than launch due to an issue with an oxidizer tank sensor.
Officers will resolve Tuesday afternoon whether or not to proceed.
The three-stage KSLV-II Nuri rocket, designed by the Korea Aerospace Analysis Institute (KARI) to finally put 1.5-ton payloads into orbit 600 to 800 km above the Earth, is a cornerstone of the nation’s plans to jumpstart its area programme and obtain bold targets in 6G networks, spy satellites, and even lunar probes.
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It makes use of solely Korean rocket applied sciences, and is the nation’s first domestically constructed area launch automobile. South Korea’s final booster, launched in 2013 after a number of delays and several other failed checks, was collectively developed with Russia.
Nuri is vital to South Korean plans to finally construct a Korean satellite-based navigation system and a 6G communications community. The nation additionally plans to launch a variety of army satellites, however officers deny that the Nuri has any use as a weapon.
South Korea can also be working with the USA on a lunar orbiter, and hopes to land a probe on the moon by 2030.
House launches have lengthy been a delicate subject on the Korean peninsula, the place North Korea faces sanctions over its nuclear-armed ballistic missile programme.
In March, South Korea’s army individually oversaw what it mentioned was its first profitable launch of a solid-fuel space-launch rocket, one other a part of its plans to launch spy satellites.
In Nuri’s first take a look at in October, the rocket accomplished its flight sequences however failed to put the take a look at payload into orbit after its third-stage engine burned out sooner than deliberate.
Engineers adjusted the helium tank inside Nuri’s third-stage oxidizer tank to handle that drawback, Yonhap information company reported.
The stakes shall be larger in Tuesday’s take a look at, as along with a dummy satellite tv for pc, Nuri will carry a rocket efficiency verification satellite tv for pc and 4 dice satellites developed by universities for analysis.
KARI has mentioned it plans to conduct a minimum of 4 extra take a look at launches by 2027.
(Reporting by Josh Smith. Modifying by Gerry Doyle)
Copyright 2022 Thomson Reuters.
