Naro launch `partially successful`

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GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province - The launch of Korea`s first space rocket was "partially successful" as the satellite aboard the rocket failed to reach the intended orbit, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said yesterday.

Although the propellants of Naro, or the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, operated properly and the 100-kilogram satellite successfully separated, the domestically-built satellite failed to be put into the desired orbit, the ministry said.

President Lee Myung-bak called for renewed and redoubled efforts to advance the country`s space technology.

"We can say it was half successful, though the satellite failed to enter orbit," Lee said in a Cabinet meeting shortly after the rocket launch.

"We must realize our dream of becoming a leading country in space technology, even if it takes an eighth attempt after seven failures or a ninth attempt after eight failures," the president was quoted as saying by his spokesman Lee Dong-kwan.

The two-stage rocket blasted off at 5 p.m. at the Naro Space Center, the country`s first spaceport in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, after the launch, originally scheduled for 2005, had been delayed seven times due to technical problems and other issues.



The state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute, which has been in charge of the rocket launch project since August 2002, said that the preliminary data showed the satellite separated from the second-stage rocket at an altitude of 342 kilometers, which is 36 kilometers higher than the projected altitude.

KARI President Lee Joo-jin said that as no propulsion system is installed in the satellite, there is no way to revise its trajectory if the satellite fails to enter the right orbit.

"Through the (rocket) development project, we have built the launch site on our soil with our hands and experienced all the processes of designing and operating (the rocket)," Science Minister Ahn Byong-man told reporters.

"Although (the satellite) may have failed to be placed into the desired orbit, I am convinced that (the failure) will also be a valuable experience that will pave the way for the complete success in the future."

He said that a joint investigative team with Russian engineers, who developed the first-stage rocket, was trying to ascertain the exact cause of the problems.

Had the satellite been put into proper orbit, the first communications with the satellite would have taken place early this morning, about 11 to 13 hours after the launch.

Korea has been striving to become the 10th country to send a locally-developed satellite into space from its own territory. The countries belonging to the so-called "space club" are Russia, the United States, France, Japan, China, Britain, India, Israel and Iran.

Naro, which weighs 140 tons and measures 33.5 meters in length and 2.9 meters in diameter, has been jointly developed by KARI and Russia`s Khrunichev State Space Science and Production Center.

The Russian institute has developed the liquid fuel first-stage rocket, which is powered by liquid oxygen and kerosene, and generates a thrust of 170 tons. The solid fuel second-stage rocket, which generates a thrust of eight tons, has been developed by KARI.

"The Science and Technology Satellite 2," which was developed at a cost of 13.65 billion won ($11 million), was jointly developed by KAIST, and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.

The primary task of the satellite, which has a two-year lifespan, was to gather information on the Earth`s atmosphere and measure the Earth`s radiant energy and satellite orbits.

Another rocket will be launched in May next year, as agreed in a contract with the Russian company. The Russians will also be responsible for a third launch if either of the first two launches fails.

Korea has spent 502.4 billion won ($402 million) on the project, which began in August 2002. About 40 percent of that amount has been paid to the Russian organization.

The country plans to launch a 1.5-ton multi-purpose commercial satellite on a fully indigenous rocket, named KSLV-2, possibly in 2018.

The country also has a long-term space exploration program. It plans to develop a lunar orbiter by 2020 and a lunar probe by 2025.

(sshluck@heraldm.com)



By Song Sang-ho