South Korea launched its first domesticallymade space rocket on Tuesday.
The 100% domestically manufactured Korean Space Launch Vehicle II, named Nuri, launched at 7:00 a.m. local time (04:00 a.m. Brasília time) from Goheung Station in the south of the country and sent satellites developed by the country’s universities to a space station .
2 of 4 images of the Nuri rocket launched from South Korea on June 21, 2022. — Photo: via AFP
Images of the Nuri rocket launched from South Korea on June 21, 2022. — Photo: via AFP
According to President Yoon Sukyeol, the launch marks an ambitious space project by South Korea and brings Seoul alongside Asian countries with advanced space missions such as China, Japan, India and North Korea.
“(The launch) is the result of 30 years of tremendous challenges. But our earth’s way into space has been opened, and from now on the dreams and hopes of our people and our youth will be stretched into space,” he declared after the rocket was launched.
Shortly after the launch, the US Embassy in Seoul spoke of “cooperation between the United States and South Korea in space”.
Since US President Joe Biden’s visit to South Korea in May, the two countries have also been rehearsing military partnerships in a clear show of force for neighboring North Korea.
Earlier this month, the two countries launched missiles in a joint test, a day after Pyongyang fired eight shortrange ballistic missiles in retaliation for aircraft carrier exercises also conducted in partnership between Washington and Seoul.
3 of 4 Nuri launched on June 21, 2022. This was the second attempt to launch the rocket into space. In the first, in 2021, the rocket failed to leave satellites in space. — Photo: via AFP
Launch from Nuri on June 21, 2022. This was the second attempt to launch the rocket into space. In the first, in 2021, the rocket failed to leave satellites in space. — Photo: via AFP
Although the operation was considered successful, this was the second attempt to launch the rocket into space. In October 2021, the three phases of the launch worked correctly, lifting the rocket to an altitude of 700 kilometers. The 1.5 ton payload was also successfully detached, but the satellite simulation was not able to be put into orbit, which the operators managed to do this time.
“Our science and technology have made great strides. Now the heavens of the Korean universe are wide open,” said the country’s Minister of Science and Technology, Lee Jongho.
4 of 4 Moment as South Korea’s Nuri rocket is launched into space on June 21, 2022 from a base in the south of the country. — Photo: via AFP
The moment South Korea’s Nuri rocket is launched into space from a base in the south of the country on June 21, 2022. — Photo: via AFP
In addition to a test satellite, Nuri carried another missile control satellite and four small cubic satellites developed for research by four local universities.
The threestage rocket was developed over a decade at a cost of 2 trillion won. It weighs 200 tons, is 47.2 meters long and has six liquid fuel engines.
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