Korea called off the launch of its first space rocket again on Thursday
due to a technical glitch on its electronic systems.
Officials of the Ministry of
Education, Science and Technology and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute
said that they detected malfunctions in the control system for a hydraulic pump
that provides the thrust to the second-stage solid rocket.
“We will further look for and
resolve the problem, and announce a new launch date in the near future,”
Education, Science and Technology Minister Lee Ju-ho told reporters.
“We are sorry, and hope that the
people will continue to support (the launch of the Naro),” Lee added.
The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1,
or the Naro rocket, was initially set to fire off into space at 4pm. The launch
was canceled altogether at 4:08pm after the countdown was halted less than 17
minutes before the scheduled takeoff.
This is the second time the
ministry and KARI have cancelled the liftoff, after the attempt was marred in
October by a damaged seal in the connector between the first-stage rocket and
the launch pad.
KARI officials said that they
would have to examine the second-stage rocket early next week and replace
components for the thrust vector control system, given that it takes some time
to transport the rocket from the launch pad to its assembly house and
disassemble it.
They did not give an estimated
date for its next launch attempt.
Experts say that Korea may likely
delay the launch to April next year since it will have to inform international
organisations again to secure possible liftoff dates.
Russia made the first-stage
liquid-engine rocket, while Korea made the second-stage solid-fuel rocket with
its fairing including a Korean science satellite payload. Russia also provided
its expertise in launch pad design and operations.
Korea has invested over 520
billion won (US$479 million) in the development of the rocket.
Korea began the Naro space
program in 2002, and Russia agreed to supply up to three rockets should Korea
fail in the first two launches.
In 2009, Korea failed in its
first attempt to send its satellite into orbit due to a fairing malfunction
after the launch.
The country retried in 2010, but
failed again as the rocket blew up shortly after liftoff, for which scientists
could not find the reasons.
KARI and the Ministry of
Education, Science and Technology initially planned to launch its third Naro
last month, but called off the launch after discovering damage in the rocket’s
helium supply system and rubber components.
This pushed Korean and Russian
researchers back to the drawing board to investigate the flaw in the helium
adaptor and rubber rings.
The ministry pushed back the new
liftoff date for the third Naro to between November 9 and 24. But the belated
arrival of new Russian rocket components further delayed the launch, with
officials saying it “would not hurry, but maintain precision for one last
successful launch”.
Korea is preparing to develop its
next domestically made three-stage liquid-fuelled rocket weighing 200 tonnes
and standing 46.5 metres high.
The country has allocated more
than 1.5 trillion won to build the KSLV-2 by 2021, and aims to put a 1.5-tonne
application satellite into orbit for scientific research.
Park Hyong-ki
Business & Investment Opportunities
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