SOUTH KOREA test-launched its first homegrown space launch vehicle Thursday, but the rocket failed to put a dummy satellite into the low-Earth orbit (600-800 km). The KSLV-II, also dubbed Nuri, blasted off from the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung at 5:00 p.m. Thursday, live footage from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) showed. After the liftoff, the three-stage space rocket flew south to reach an altitude of 59 km in the first thrust section and an altitude of 600 km at about 5:08 p.m. The third-stage booster engine stopped at 5:12 p.m., and the satellite was separated from the booster at 5:15 p.m. However, the 1.5-ton dummy satellite failed to be put into the sun synchronous orbit as planned. South Korean President Moon Jae-in told a televised speech at the space center that the homegrown rocket finished all of its flight sequence, but he noted that putting the dummy satellite into orbit remained as an unfinished task to be tackled. Moon said it was something to brag about to send the rocket up at an altitude of 700 km in space, expecting that the next test-launch of Nuri, scheduled for May next year, could achieve a complete success. It was South Korea’s first test-launch of its homegrown rocket that was entirely designed and built in the country. (Xinhua) |