South Korea: launch of the first 100% national rocket, but mission failure
Nuri launched at the Naro Space Center in Goheung in South Jeolla Province, 473 km south of Seoul on October 21, 2021. AFP - -
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
South Korea launched its first nationally designed space rocket on Thursday (October 21), but failed to send its dummy payload into orbit, a setback in its attempts to join the club of advanced space nations.
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The launch and deployment of the three phases of the "Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II" rocket worked, as did the separation of the 1.5-ton payload, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said after attending at launch at the control center. But "
the putting into orbit of a dummy satellite remains an unfinished mission
", he announced.
"
Although it did not perfectly achieve its objectives, we have done very well with our first launch,
" commented President Moon, adding that a new attempt will take place in May.
“
The countries that are at the forefront of space technology will be at the forefront of the future,
” he said.
And we are not too late to do so.
"
Cheers and applause had previously resounded in the control center as the flight went according to plan and appeared to be a success.
In the National Assembly, lawmakers had interrupted their work to attend the launch.
Enter the space race
South Korea wants to join the club of advanced space nations with its first rocket made entirely in the country.
It took about ten years to develop the three-stage rocket, at a cost of 2,000 billion won (1.46 billion euros).
With its six liquid fuel engines, it weighs 200 tonnes and is 47.2 meters long.
South Korea is the 12th economy in the world and one of the most technologically advanced countries, notably with its flagship Samsung Electronics, the largest manufacturer of smartphones and chips in the world.
But it always lagged behind in the conquest of space, where the Soviet Union led the way with the launch of the first satellite in 1957, followed closely by the United States.
In Asia, China,
Japan
and India have developed advanced space programs, and North Korea is the latest to join the club of countries capable of launching a satellite.
The same technology is used for ballistic missiles and space rockets.
Pyongyang put a 300 kg satellite into orbit in 2012, which Western countries condemned as a disguised missile test.
►
See also:
North Korea fires a ballistic missile again but intends to continue dialogue with the South
Today, only six countries have successfully launched a payload of over a ton on their rockets.
Look to the moon
But the South Korean space program shows a mixed record: its first two launches, in 2009 and 2010, which used Russian technology, were unsuccessful.
The second rocket had exploded after two minutes of flight, Seoul and Moscow blaming each other.
Eventually, the country successfully launched in 2013, still relying on engines developed in Russia.
The satellite launch business is increasingly the business of private companies, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has US space agency NASA and the South Korean military among its clients.
But a success of Nuri would offer South Korea an "
infinite
"
potential
, estimates an expert.
Thursday's launch is a milestone in South Korea's ambitious space program, with the goal announced in March by President Moon Jae-in of launching a lunar orbiter next year.
►
To read also:
Space: successful return to Earth for the first four SpaceX tourists
(With
AFP
)
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