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The three-level NURI will be launched in a few hours, and surveillance, communications satellites and even lunar exploration are planned in the future.
South Korea is scheduled to launch its space program on Thursday, when it will conduct the first test launch of its domestic rocket.
The three-stage KSLV-II NURI rocket bearing the South Korean flag and carrying a virtual satellite is scheduled to fly from Naro Aerospace, which is located nearly 500 kilometers (311 miles) south of South Korea, at 4 pm (07:00 GMT) The center launches into space. Seoul.
NURI means “world” and aims to send 1.5 tons of payload into orbits 600 kilometers to 800 kilometers (373 miles to 497 miles) from the earth, and has been developed for 10 years at a cost of 2 trillion won (1.6 billion US dollars). ).
The country has become the world’s 12th largest economy and technologically advanced country, but it lags behind in the headlines in the aerospace sector. The Soviet Union took the lead in launching the first satellite in 1957, followed by the United States.
China, Japan, and India all have advanced space programs. South Korea’s nuclear-weapon neighbor North Korea put a 300 kg (660 lb) satellite into orbit in 2012. Western countries condemned this as a disguised missile test.
Under the supervision of the Korean Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (KARI), the 200-ton rocket was moved to the launch pad and raised into position on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement: “All preparations such as umbilical cord connection and confidentiality checks have been completed.”
NURI was transported out of the assembly building to the launch pad of the Naro Space Center, located nearly 500 kilometers south of Seoul [Lee Hyo-kyun/ Korea Aerospace Research Institute via AFP]Space launch has long been a sensitive issue on the Korean peninsula, and North Korea is facing sanctions for its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
South Korea’s future plans call for the launch of surveillance, navigation, and lunar landing probes before 2030. The plan also includes military satellites, but officials deny that NURI itself can be used as a weapon.
Seoul’s space program has mixed records—it used Russian technology in its first two launches in 2009 and 2010, but both ended in failure. The second time it exploded two minutes after flight.
The first successful launch was in 2013, after many delays and several failed tests. That rocket was also jointly developed with Russia.
Officials told Reuters that having its own launch vehicle would allow South Korea to flexibly determine payload types and launch schedules, and protect “secret” payloads such as spy satellites.
“Rockets are the only means for humans to enter space,” Lee Sang-ryul, director of the Korea Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told Korean newspaper Chosun Biz.
“Having such technology means that we have met the basic requirements for participating in this space exploration competition.”
The NURI weighs 200 tons, is 47.2 meters (155 feet) long, and is equipped with a total of six liquid fuel engines.
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