ZCZC
BFF-30
SCIENCE-SKOREA-SPACE-ROCKET
S. Korea successfully tests space rocket engine
SEOUL, Nov 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – South Korea on Wednesday successfully
conducted a rocket engine test launch, news reports said, paving the way for
the development of its own space launch vehicle.
A liquid-fuel engine successfully propelled a single-stage rocket weighing
52 tonnes and measuring 25.8 meters (84.6 feet) long, from the Naro Space
Center on the southern coast, Yonhap news agency said.
The engine, designed and developed by the Korea Aerospace Research
Institute (KARI ) as part of a $1.8 billion project, will be used to propel
the country’s first indigenous three-stage launch vehicle — the Korea Space
Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2).
“This is a significant step forward in developing a launch vehicle with our
own technology,” a KARI spokesman said.
It is the first such launch in South Korea since 2013 when the country
successfully put a small satellite into orbit following failures in 2009 and
in 2010.
But the significance of the 2013 launch was widely discounted as the launch
vehicle had to rely on a Russia-developed engine for its first stage.
On its launch — scheduled for 2021 — KSLV-2 will use five of the newly
developed engines, a bundle of four for the first stage and another one for
the second stage.
Wednesday’s test was deemed successful as the engine combustion was
maintained for over 140 seconds during the test launch, Yonhap said.
The KSLV-2 rocket, which will be South Korea’s first space vehicle wholly
designed and built by itself, will be used to place satellites into the
Earth’s orbit and for other commercial applications.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1410 hrs