South Korea launches first satellite

South Korea has thrust a satellite into orbit for the first time.


South Korea has attached an intense national pride to the 140-ton, 108-feet tall Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, or KSLV-1, which was built with the help of Russian technology. Feeling besieged by China and Japan, both of which have successful space programs, South Korea has sought a technological prowess of its own.


With all major South Korean television stations broadcasting the countdown live, the two-stage rocket blasted off from the newly built Naro Space Center in Goheung, 200 miles south of Seoul.

"After analyzing the data, we determined that our satellite entered its intended orbit," said Lee Ju-ho, the government's minister of education, science and technology, during a nationally televised news conference. "Today, we took a leap toward becoming a power in space technology. This is a success for all the people."

Although part of the two-stage rocket was built by the Russians, South Korea considered the successful launching Wednesday an important toehold in the space technology, the latest high-tech market where the country has decided to become a player. By 2021, it says, it will launch a completely indigenous three-stage, liquid-fueled rocket capable of carrying a 1.5-ton payload into orbit.

KSLV-1 was the first space rocket to take off from South Korea. The country bought its liquid-fueled first booster stage from the Russian company Khrunichev in a deal that included a transfer of technology to South Korean engineers. South Korea has built the rocket's solid-fueled second stage that carried a small, 100-kilogram "Naro" Science and Technology Satellite-2C, built by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

The satellite, which has a one-year operational lifespan, will mainly collect data on space radiation. Officials said they needed until early Thursday to conclude whether the satellite was functioning properly.

The New York Times