Korea sends first rocket into space, orbit missed
South Korea’s first two-stage rocket blasts off yesterday at 5 p.m. at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla, in the first launch from Korean soil. However, the satellite failed to enter into precise orbit. [YONHAP]
The initial success of the launch, which came at 5 p.m. at the Naro Space Center located 485 kilometers (301 miles) south of Seoul in Goheung, South Jeolla, was announced by mission control center after the Science and Technology Satellite-2 separated from the second stage rocket nine minutes after blastoff.
But about 30 minutes later, cheers turned into sighs after the center found the satellite had missed the target orbit for reasons that were not immediately clear.
Lee Joo-jin, head of Korea Aerospace Research Institute in Daejeon, said in a press briefing that Korean and Russian experts are jointly studying the issue.
Ahn Byong-man, the minister of Education, Science and Technology, said during a briefing at the space center that the satellite seemed to have separated from the second stage of the rocket at an altitude of 342 kilometers, 36 kilometers higher than expected.
Ahn said, “We regret that we could not meet the people’s expectation with the failure to send the satellite into the [proper] orbit ... We will do our best to succeed in the second launch scheduled for next May.”
Korea invested 502.5 billion won ($405 million) for the last seven years in the rocket launch.
The launch of the rocket could have made Korea the 10th country to place a satellite successfully into orbit from its own territory and the fourth country to succeed on its first try.
The rocket traveled into outer space at eight kilometers per second.
Until the orbit was overshot, every phase of the flight ? from separation of two stages of the rocket to the removal of the covering of the satellite ? operated without a hitch.
The space center began injecting fuel and oxidation agents into the rocket at 2:53 p.m.
An automatic launch countdown began 15 minutes before liftoff. Power was activated in the second stage five minutes before launch.
Beginning at noon, some 10,000 spectators gathered on a beach 17 kilometers from the space center to anticipate a successful launch with ceremonial events and performances.
But their excitement turned into frustration after they learned the satellite failed to enter the orbit.
Researchers monitoring the launch at mission control remained on high alert even though the satellite did not reach precise orbit.
The Satellite Technology Research Center of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, or Kaist, will be in charge of establishing communications with the satellite 13 hours after the liftoff.
Officials said that the first communications could be made around 4 a.m. today if the satellite works properly.
The rocket had two stages: the bottom portion produced by Russia and the upper portion developed by Korea.
The bottom stage ? weighing about 140 tons with a height of 33 meters (108 feet) and diameter of 2.9 meters ? arrived in Busan via a Russian cargo plane on June 19.
The Naro Space Center covers 5.07 million square meters (1,252 acres) and was built at a cost of 312.4 billion won ($248.6 million).
By Park Bang-ju, Lee Min-yong [smartpower@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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