• 6 years ago
South Korea plans to conduct the first test flight of its locally-developed booster engine in the coming weeks.
Named 'Nuri' ,... the rocket is part of ongoing efforts to produce the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2,... or the KSLV-2,... a three-stage rocket.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
As part of long-term efforts to launch the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 by 2021,... South Korea will conduct the first test flight of its locally developed booster engine by the end of next month.
According to South Korea's Science and ICT ministry,... the test will take place sometime between October 25th and the 31st,... but barring any unforeseen developments,.. the launch should take place on the primary date of October 25th.
Named 'Nuri',... the rocket was named through a nationwide contest.
The word means "world" in ancient Korean,... and conveys the wishes for the homegrown rocket to travel into orbit and to bring back technological developments.

"Around 6,300 people submitted more than 10,000 entries in the title competition. We selected the winner based on the name's theme, conformity, symbolism, and ingenuity."

The test launch will see the rocket fly for about ten minutes,... during which the performance of the new engine, control system and other parts will be monitored.
It's expected to attain a sub-orbital altitude of over 100-kilometers,... some 160 seconds after launch,... and reach its peak altitude 300 seconds into flight,... before splashing down in international waters between South Korea's Jeju Island and Japan's Okinawa Island.
If successful,... four of the thrust engines will be used in the first stage,... and one on the second stage of KSLV-2,... as the whole rocket is scheduled to blast off in 2021.
The rocket is to be South Korea's first space vehicle wholly designed and built in the country.
It will be used to place unmanned satellites into orbit and for other commercial purposes.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.

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