S Korean space rocket might have exploded

[Sun Jian]

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S Korean space rocket might have exploded: science minister<!-- end_t -->​

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</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="min-height: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" align="left" valign="top">South Korean two-stage satellite-carrier Naro-1, or the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), lifts off from the Naro Space Center in South Jeolla Province, about 485 kilometers south of Seoul, South Korea, June 10, 2010. South Korea launched Naro-1, a locally assembled space rocket Thursday, but contact with the rocket was lost only 137 seconds after the takeoff. (Xinhua/Yonhap)</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
SEOUL, June 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's locally assembled space rocket, which crashed after reaching the altitude of 70 km, might have exploded, Seoul's science minister Ahn Byung-man told reporters. The two-stage satellite-carrier Naro-1, or the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), lifted off from the Naro Space Center in South Jeolla Province, about 485 kilometers south of Seoul, at 5:01 p.m. local time (0801 GMT), but contact with it was lost 137 seconds after the takeoff.

The minister offered an apology to the public over botching up the ambitious project, but said the country will continue its efforts to better the technology. The launch of the 140-ton rocket, made with the help of Russian experts, came a day after a technical problem with firefighting equipment delayed the initially planned blastoff. South Korea has put 502.5 billion won (404.5 million U.S. dollars) into developing the Naro-1.

Last year, a technical glitch botched up the first attempt at the rocket launch. A faulty fairing assembly prevented the rocket from putting the satellite into the orbit and the rocket veered off course.

 

[singveld]

what do they expect?

they still hunt submarine with depth charges, therefore it is still ww2 technology in south korea, therefore they are unable to launch vehicle into space.

i want to laugh at their pathetic attempt for space race.



South Korea rocket 'explodes' moments after take-off
Communication was lost just two minutes after the KSLV-1 took off

A South Korean rocket appears to have exploded moments after take-off, ending the country's latest attempt to join the space-launch industry.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle 1 is thought to have blown up 137 seconds after take-off, said science minister Ahn Byong-man.

The rocket lifted off from Goheung's Naro Space Centre at 1701 (0801 GMT).

But contact was lost as the rocket reached an altitude of 70 kilometres (44 miles).

"Looking from the bright flash seen on the camera mounted on the tip of the rocket, it appears [the KSLV-1] exploded in flight during the first-stage ignition," said Mr Ahn.

Analysts say the reported failure is a major setback for South Korea in what some observers have described as an "Asian space race".

Malfunction

The launch was South Korea's second attempt to put a satellite in space, after a launch in August 2009 failed.

The country had been hoping to become only the 10th in the world able to put satellites into space, and thereby gain a lucrative slice of the growing space launch industry.


BBC News, Seoul
This was South Korea's second attempt after the first, in August last year, also failed to place a satellite into orbit.

There were high expectations. The launch was carried live on major news networks, and crowds of people on beaches along the south coast whooped and danced as the rocket lifted off from the nearby launch base.

But failure is commonplace for any nation trying to develop a new rocket; some estimates put it as high as 50%.

South Korea had spent $400m on what was always known to be a high-risk mission to become one of only a handful of countries with an independent satellite launch capability.

So far it has come to nothing.
China, India and Japan have developed a launch capability; China has also sent three manned missions into space.

The KSLV-1, built partly in Russia and partly in South Korea, had cost 500 billion won ($400m; £275m).

The satellite - which had been intended to study the effects of climate change - should have separated from the rocket and deployed its solar panels some nine minutes after take-off, at an altitude of 302km.

The rocket had been due to take off on Wednesday, but lift-off was cancelled three hours before launch after fire extinguishing fluids were detected leaking from parts of the equipment.

South Korea's Ministry for Education, Science and Technology said thorough checks had confirmed the leaks did not affect the safety of the rocket and the launch had been rescheduled.

Weather conditions had been closely checked in the final hours before the latest launch. A spokesman for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (Kari) said all faulty hardware had been replaced and steps taken to prevent a repeat of the earlier faults.

The rocket stood 33m (108ft) tall and was launched from the country's new spaceport on the southern tip of the Korean peninsula.

South Korea's first launch of the two-stage KSLV-1, in August last year, failed to place its satellite payload into the proper orbit.

Four months previously, an attempted space launch by North Korea was deemed to have failed when the US reported that both rocket stages had fallen into the Pacific Ocean.

The North's launch was seen as a cover for a long-range missile test, and prompted UN sanctions.

Pyongyang had voiced irritation at the South's rocket development, but most other powers in the region accepted that its attempt was part of a peaceful civilian programme.

 

[Yoshitsune Minamoto]

The blastoff at the coastal Naro space center in Goheung, 465 kilometres south of Seoul, is the country's second launch of a rocket from its own territory. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), or Naro-1, is set up on its launch pad at Naro Space Centre in Goheung, about 485 km (301 miles) south of Seoul, June 8, 2010. South Korea plans to relaunch its first space rocket Naro on June 9, the second attempt after it failed to enter its target orbit in August last year. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1(KSLV-1) or Naro-1, South Korea's second space rocket blasts-off from launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung on June 10, 2010. The scientific satellite had been expected to separate from the rocket at an altitude of 302 km and deploy its solar panels about nine minutes after blast-off. Contact was lost completely 137 seconds after blast-off when the rocket was at an altitude of 70 kilometres (43 miles), said Lee Joo-Jin, head of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. -- PHOTO: AFP

The South Korea Space Launch Vehicle takes off from the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea, Thursday, June 10, 2010. South Korea launched the rocket carrying a satellite meant to study climate change Thursday, but the mission was immediately thrown into doubt when authorities lost communications with the craft. -- PHOTO: AP


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[Yoshitsune Minamoto]

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1(KSLV-1) or Naro-1, South Korea's second space rocket blasts-off from launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung on June 10, 2010. -- PHOTO: AFP

The scientific satellite had been expected to separate from the rocket at an altitude of 302 km and deploy its solar panels about nine minutes after blast-off. Contact was lost completely 137 seconds after blast-off when the rocket was at an altitude of 70 kilometres. -- PHOTO: AFP

People watch a South Korean Space Launch Vehicle taking off from the launch pad at the Naro Space Center, at a beach in Goheung, South Korea, Thursday, June 10, 2010. South Korea says rocket carrying observation satellite is believed to have exploded in flight. -- PHOTO: AP


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