[ad_1]
Seoul – South Korea launched first homemade rocket A mission that was only partially successful, but an important step toward placing locally-made satellites into orbit, officials said on Thursday, to better monitor the growing threats from North Korea.
three-stage Nuri Constructed by the government’s Korea Aerospace Research Institute with the help of hundreds of local companies, the rocket took off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, in the southwestern tip of South Korea. The rocket carried a 1.5-ton mock payload to test its ability to put an artificial satellite into orbit 373 to 497 miles above Earth.
A little over an hour after takeoff, Chairman Moon Jae-in said the launch “did not quite reach its destination”, but showed “excellent results for the first attempt.” He said Nuri had pushed his payload into space 434 miles above Earth, but the mission was “incomplete”. Mr Moon did not provide further details, but experts said the mock satellite was probably not operating at the altitude or speed its engineers intended.
“We’re just one step away from reaching our goal,” Mr. Moon said at a press conference, urging engineers to make the next launch, scheduled for May, “a complete success”.
Thursday’s launch was broadcast live on all major TV stations and internet streaming platforms like the ones below. YouTube. Mr. Moon’s government had declared the launch a giant step forward in South Korea’s effort to become a new leader in space technology.
South Korea has nurtured a decades-long passion to join the elite club of nations that are building rockets capable of placing communications, surveillance, and other satellites into orbit. After multiple delays and failures, South Korea’s Naro rocket has succeeded putting A satellite in orbit for research and development in 2013. However, unlike Nuri, the rocket launched on Thursday using domestic technology was built jointly with Naro Russia.
South Korea spent approximately $1.7 billion to build the 200-tonne Nuri, also known as the Korean Space Launch Vehicle-II. He planned to make several more test launches of the Nuri system, including those scheduled for May.
South Korea hoped to provide a foothold with Nuri space technology, the latest high-tech market where the country decided to become a player. Most rocket launches worldwide have been carried out by the USA, Russia, France, China, Japan and India.
South Korea plans to send a lunar orbiter on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, next fall. Mr Moon said his country expects to be able to land an uncrewed spacecraft on the moon by 2030 using South Korean rockets.
With its own rocketry capabilities, South Korea says it hopes to build satellite-based navigation and next-generation communications networks. At the same time, it wants to carve out part of the world’s satellite launch market, an increasingly populated area as major industrialized countries try to create their own local programs.
Nuri’s launch reflected South Korea’s goal of regaining as well as a desire to become less dependent on US forces to monitor North Korea. wartime operational control According to the bilateral agreement signed with Washington of the 550 thousand-strong army, South Korean troops will come under the command of an American general in case of war on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea does not have a military spy satellite of its own, instead relying on US satellites to monitor the North. As North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities have expanded over the years, and after President Donald J. Trump threatened to withdraw American troops from South Korea, placing its own “eyes and ears” in space became more urgent.
South Korea placed its first military communications satellite, carried by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, into orbit last July.
North Korea, which has own rocket programcriticized the South’s space program for its potential military applications. Space rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles use similar technologies. North Korea launched satellite spacecraft Before successfully testing three ICBMs in 2017. The United Nations Security Council has banned the North from launching space rockets used as tests for the country’s long-range ballistic missile program.
South Korea’s space ambitions have been hampered for years by agreements with the United States. American officials feared that a powerful South Korean rocket program would prompt the country to build missiles, accelerating a regional arms race. But last year Washington and Seoul agreed to lift some restrictions by allowing South Korea to build solid-fuel rockets for space-launched vehicles.
Solid fuel rockets are more cost effective than liquid fuel rockets like Nuri. They are also ideal for long-range ballistic missiles, as they are easier to carry and prepare for launch. North Korea has accused the South of hypocrisy in expanding its own weapons capabilities while criticizing the North.
[ad_2]
Source link