Gov`t to conduct safety check for space rocket launch

The government said Monday that it will conduct a comprehensive safety check to determine preparedness and various contingency plans for the country`s first space rocket launch late next month, Yonhap News reported.

The review meeting, chaired by Vice Science Minister Kim Jung-hyun, will open on Tuesday, with 30 days remaining before the planned launch on July 30, the government said.

It said officials and engineers will go over all aspects of the launch, ranging from an inspection of the launch pad, emergency plans on the day of the blast off to various "scenarios" to cope with weather conditions that can affect the schedule.

South Korea started work on the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) project in 2002, with local scientists building the 100 kilogram scientific satellite and second-stage solid fuel rocket.

The country has finished work on the Naro Space Center in Goheung, 485 km south of Seoul that will launch future rockets and have acquired the main booster rocket from Russia this month.