South Korea on Thursday launched its domestically-designed rocket dubbed Nuri with "a commercial-grade satellite" on board, a milestone in South Korea's burgeoning space program.
"We inform that the third shot of Nuri, which was independently designed (...), has been successfully completed," said Lee Jong-ho, the Minister of Science and Technology.
For the South Korean minister, this launch confirms the "potential of (our) launch pads for various satellite operations and for space exploration".
A breakthrough that should give South Korea a competitive advantage in the global space race, President Yoon Suk Yeol said.
This country has set itself the goal of sending spacecraft to the Moon by 2032 and to Mars by 2045.
"The success of Nuri's third launch is a tremendous achievement that shows South Korea has joined the G7 space powers," the head of state said in a statement.
Three more Nuri launches will be carried out by 2027, he added.
Thursday's is already the third. The first ended in failure before a success in 2022 at the second launch of this rocket which had put test satellites into orbit. The payloads carried by the launcher were then mainly intended to study its performance.
Nuri blasted off at 6:24 p.m. local time (0924 GMT) from Naro Space Center in South Korea's southern coastal region on Thursday, leaving a huge trail of white smoke behind her.
It carries eight operational satellites, including a real "commercial-type satellite", said the South Korean Ministry of Science. The latter was able to communicate with the King Sejong Station, the South Korean station in Antarctica.
The satellites Nuri is carrying have successfully separated, according to official footage.
Over 200,000 viewers watched the event live on YouTube, with one commenting, "Fly high Nuri! Let's go to space!"
The "third launch aims to place a satellite" developed in South Korea into a target orbit, Ko Jeong-hwan, program director of the Nuri rocket at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), told reporters. .
This 180 kg machine, NEXTSat 2, was created by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). It must be put into orbit at an altitude of some 550 km, explains KARI.
The device is equipped with a small synthetic aperture radar which makes it possible to obtain high resolution images whatever the weather conditions.
It took about ten years to create this rocket, 47 meters high and weighing 200 tons, at a cost of 2,000 billion won (1.4 billion euros).
South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced countries, but it has always lagged behind in space exploration, where the Soviet Union led the way with the launch of the first satellite in 1957.
The first two South Korean rocket launches partly using Russian technology, in 2009 and 2010, ended in failure. In January 2013, it was finally successfully launched.
25/05/2023 15:46:22 - Seoul (AFP) © 2023 AFP
