A day after delay, S.Korea launches 8 satellites into space

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - South Korea successfully launched its home-built space rocket, Nuri, on Thursday at 6.24 p.m. local time (0924GMT) from Naro Space Center, following the resolution of a technical issue with the computer system.

At 4 p.m. local time (0800GMT), the engineers initiated the process of filling the rocket with fuel and oxidizer. Ten minutes before liftoff, the prelaunch operation, which is an automated system responsible for overseeing the final preflight checkouts, commenced, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said.

Nuri, which is also referred to as the KSLV-II rocket, was set to carry satellites into space on Wednesday, but a tech glitch halted the launch plan, the Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology announced.

The eight satellites in this launch included the country's second next-generation small satellite (NEXTSAT-2), four microsatellites developed by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (SNIPE), the JAC satellite developed by Korean engineering company Justek Inc., the LUMIR-T1 satellite created by local space firm Lumir Inc., and the KSAT3U satellite from startup Kairospace Co.

Through the Nuri project, which began in 2010 and cost around $1.52 billion, Korea has secured the necessary independent technology for developing and launching space rockets carrying domestically developed satellites.

The project is set to continue until 2027, with three additional rocket launches planned.