SEOUL, June 13 (BNA) The state-run South Korean Space Research Institute (Kari) made final preparations on Monday ahead of the second attempt this week to send multiple satellites into orbit.
Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, is scheduled to be flown to the launch pad and erected vertically on Tuesday at the Naro Space Center in the country’s southern coastal village of Goheung, a day before launch.
In its first attempt in October, South Korea’s first home-made space rocket successfully flew to a target altitude of 700 km but failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit as the third-stage engine burned out earlier than expected.
Yonhap reported that the Ministry of Science set last month, June 15, as the second date for Nouri’s release.
Jang Young-Soon, head of the launch system development team at KARI, said the three-stage space rocket, which weighs 200 tons and is 47.2 meters high, has been fully assembled and is undergoing a final electrical system check.
Prior to the second launch, Nuri underwent reinforcements to a helium tank stabilization device inside a third-stage oxidizer tank.
In October, a helium tank fell into a third-stage rocket due to increased buoyancy during flight and eventually caused the engine to shut down prematurely, according to the government commission.
Engineers added about 9 kilograms of boosters to the third-stage missile to avoid such problems and said the increase was unlikely to affect the missile’s performance, Jang said at a recent online news conference.
A factor that may affect the schedule is the weather, with authorities forecasting 60 percent of precipitation in the area on Tuesday afternoon. Although the rocket itself is hermetically sealed to prevent water from entering, a large amount of rain can cause logistical problems.
No rain is expected on launch day, but Jang said wind condition is also a critical factor in the launch’s success. According to KARI, the average surface wind speed must remain below 15 meters per second during the entire operation to ensure a successful launch.
The launch was initially scheduled for 4 p.m., but the exact time will be set on Wednesday depending on space conditions and sunspot eruptions.
Unlike the October launch, which carried a single satellite, this time Nuri will be loaded with a 180-kilogram performance-verification satellite to test the capabilities of the rocket and four separate cube satellites developed by four universities for academic research purposes.
“The most important mission (of the verification satellite) is to test the (satellite) injection capability,” said Ahn Sang-il, a senior researcher in the Aerospace Exploration Systems Engineering Team of the KARI Institute.
South Korea plans to conduct four additional Nuri missile launches by 2027 as part of efforts to boost the country’s space missile program.
FKN