South Korea on Tuesday tapped a South Korean liquid rocket engine expert and a Korean-American who retired from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States for the leadership positions of the nascent space agency set for blastoff in late May. According to the presidential office in Seoul, Yoon Young-bin, an aerospace engineering professor at the Seoul National University, was named the new administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, or KASA. Yoon's four d

Politics April 24, 2024

The year 2023 saw very few ups and an overbearing number of downs, with war, climate threats and social and economic woes posing existential questions. The Korea Herald runs the top 10 news stories of the past year for Korea and the world, with hopes that humanity will prevail to overcome the challenges we continue to face in the new year. [Top 10 News in Korea] Teachers' deaths ignite outrage A series of apparent suicides among teachers since July sparked outrage, exposing the grim reali

Newsmaker Dec. 28, 2023

The level of public interest in space here has reached its highest point in recent years when South Korea consecutively succeeded in launching homegrown Nuri rocket and Danuri, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, last year. Orbit, undeniably the most well-known science communicator in South Korea at the moment, says the science frenzy here should continue by uncovering the more entertaining aspects of science from the vastness of the universe, as well as fun research. Science communicators are i

Technology Sept. 17, 2023

The following is a chronology of major events leading to the development of South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri, or Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II (KSLV-II), which was launched from Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung on Thursday. June 4, 1993 -- South Korea launches the homegrown one-stage solid propelled science observation rocket, called the Korea Space Rocket-I, after three years of development. July 9, 1997 -- South Korea launches the home

Social Affairs May 25, 2023

GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province -- South Korea successfully conducted the third launch of the homegrown Nuri rocket Thursday, as the satellite launch vehicle reached the targeted altitude and released satellites into orbit, marking another space milestone for the country. “Following the success of the Nuri rocket’s second launch last year, today’s third launch affirmed the Nuri rocket’s flight capability and secured reliability. At the same time, it was a chance to reaffir

Technology May 25, 2023

South Korean aerospace engineers have been inspecting the country's homegrown space rocket Nuri on Thursday following the last-minute cancellation of the scheduled launch over a computer glitch. The launch management committee, which oversees the entire process, called off the launch of Nuri on Wednesday after the engineers detected a communications problem between a launch control computer and a launch pad facility control computer about three hours before liftoff. The Ministry of Science and I

Industry May 25, 2023

GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province -- South Korea postponed the third launch of the homegrown Nuri rocket due to a software error during the preparation process, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday. “During the checkup on the low-temperature helium valve control, a problem occurred in the communication between computers that control the launch operation and the launch pad’s equipment. The valve itself did not have any issues as it could be operated manually. But once the valve

Technology May 24, 2023

Hanwha Group, South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate, stands at the forefront of the country’s efforts to grow and nurture its space industry, as Hanwha Aerospace became the first system integration company to lead the launch of the homegrown Nuri rocket. Hanwha Aerospace won the government bid in December to take charge of upgrading the Nuri rocket, also known as Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle-II, and launching it four times through 2027. The company signed a contract worth appr

Industry May 24, 2023

South Korea was preparing Wednesday to launch its homegrown space rocket Nuri in a mission to put eight satellites into orbit. The 200-ton Nuri is set to blast off from the Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung at around 6:24 p.m., according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. In a meeting of Nuri's launch management committee Tuesday, the science ministry and KARI concluded Nuri's final technical inspection proceeded wi

Technology May 24, 2023

    South Korea’s homegrown Nuri rocket, also known as the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II, has begun the process to be positioned on a launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, a day ahead of its third launch into space. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Nuri arrived at the launch pad an hour after it was transported from KARI’s assembly building at 7:20 a.m. The rocket was being prepared to

Technology May 23, 2023

The third launch of Nuri, the Korean homegrown space launch vehicle, has been set to take place on May 24, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday. According to the ministry, the Nuri rocket, also known as the Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II, will blast off from the launch pad at 6:24 p.m. at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. The preliminary launch period will be from May 25 to 31. The ministry said that the Nuri rocket had completed the process of assembling the f

Technology April 11, 2023

Innospace, a South Korean startup specializing in developing hybrid space rockets, on Tuesday announced that the previous day's launch of the Hanbit-TLV had been successful, opening up a new era for the country’s private space sector. The Hanbit-TLV, which was launched from the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil at 2:52 p.m. on Sunday there, flew for 4 minutes and 33 seconds with its engine burning for 106 seconds after the liftoff, and eventually landed in the safety zone in Brazilian

Technology March 21, 2023

The South Korean government has designated three regions -- South Jeolla Province, South Gyeongsang Province and Daejeon city -- as clusters for the space industry, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced Wednesday. The decision was made during a National Space Committee meeting held earlier in the day. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo presided over the meeting, which took place for the first time since the Yoon administration took office in May. South Jeolla Province, home of the Naro Space Center

Industry Dec. 21, 2022

President Yoon Suk-yeol announced South Korea’s space economy road map with goals of landing on the moon and Mars in about two decades. The plan includes developing an independent projectile engine that can fly toward the moon within five years, “land on the moon in 2032” to start mining resources and “land on Mars in 2045," he said at a ceremony held to mark the government's new space plan. The plan was unveiled months after Korea became the 10th country in the

Politics Nov. 28, 2022

A South Korean satellite has made two-way communication with its ground station, officials said Wednesday, confirming the success of the country's first-ever self-powered satellite deployment project. South Korea on Tuesday successfully launched the 200-ton Nuri from Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung in a major milestone in the country's space program. The rocket, also known as KSLV-II, succeeded in deploying satellites at a target altitude of

Social Affairs June 22, 2022

GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province -- In its second attempt, South Korea successfully launched the nation’s first domestic rocket into orbit on Tuesday, a landmark step that opens a new era of homegrown space technology and lays the foundation for outer space excursion. After spending eight months on improving technical problems that caused an early shutdown of the third-stage rocket engine, the Nuri rocket (KSLV-II), weighing 200 metric tons, once again flew to outer space at the state-run

Technology June 21, 2022

The successful launch of South Korea’s homegrown space rocket Nuri, officially the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II, on Tuesday added the country as the seventh nation in the world to have developed a space launch vehicle that can carry a satellite of more than 1 ton. The list begins with Russia, the US and France. China, Japan and India later joined the exclusive club of spacefaring nations. Since initiating its first space rocket development mission in the early 1990s, it took nearly 30 y

Industry June 21, 2022

South Korea’s homegrown space rocket Nuri is erected at the launch pad at Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, Tuesday morning, waiting for its second launch trial in the afternoon. Nuri’s first attempt in October last year had ended in failure as it failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit.

Industry June 21, 2022