South Korea Launches Rocket On Third Attempt

South Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, its third attempt to place a satellite into space.

AsianScientist (Feb. 4, 2013) – South Korea successfully launched a rocket at 4 p.m. on Wednesday from the Naro Space Center in Seoul, its third attempt to place a satellite into space.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSVL-1), also known as the Naro rocket, blasted off 482 kilometers south of Seoul. Past attempts in 2009 and 2010 ended in failure due to technical reasons, while the latest launch was delayed by weeks.

“At 4 p.m. today, the Naro was successfully launched. The satellite was deployed 540 seconds after the launch and an analysis of related data shows the satellite has successfully entered its target orbit,” Lee Ju-ho, minister of education, science and technology told Yonhap News Agency.

The rocket launcher also carried with it a 100 kilogram satellite called Science and Technology Satellite 2C (STSAT-2C).

The Naro rocket, which consists of a Russian-built first stage and a South Korean-developed second stage, later deployed its payload satellite into orbit at its target altitude.

South Korea’s launch takes place six weeks after North Korea successfully launched a rocket on December 12, which sparked fears that the isolated Northern state could someday launch a nuclear missile.

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Copyright: Asian Scientist Magazine. Photo: Korea Aerospace Research Institute.
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