South Korea's First Homegrown Space Rocket Nuri Falters After Successful Launch: Report

South Korea President Moon Jae-in says 'Korea Space Age' is approaching, project will continue despite the incomplete mission

South Korea's first homegrown space rocket "Nuri" is launched at the Naro Space Centre in Goheung in South Jeolla Province, 473 kms south of Seoul, on October 21, 2021 | Photo: AFP

New Delhi: South Korea blasted off its first homegrown rocket into space on Thursday, but the test launch delivered mixed results.

Nuri failed to fully place a dummy satellite into orbit, Reuters reported.

Earlier in the day, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute live-streamed the event on YouTube as the country conducted the test launch. 

The Korean Space Launch Vehicle-II (KSLV-II), also called Nuri, is the country's first domestically built rocket. The three-stage rocket blasted off into space 1:30 pm IST, from the launch pad at South Korea's Naro Space Center. 

NURI entered orbit 16 minutes and seven seconds after launch. 

President Moon Jae-in watched the launch from the space centre. He later said the rocket failed to place the test payload into orbit, though it completed its flight sequences, the Reuters report said.

"Unfortunately, we did not fully reach our goal." 

Moon said the project would press ahead despite the incomplete mission.

"It's not long before we'll be able to launch it exactly into the target trajectory. The 'Korea Space Age' is approaching," Reuters quoted Moon has having saif according to a transcript.

Earlier, right after the launch, Moon said South Korea will transfer space technology to private sector, and that the country will step up private-public cooperation so private firms can develop solid fuel boosters, South Korean news agency Arirang News reported.

NURI, The ‘World’

The word NURI means "world" in Old Korean language The rocket has the ability to carry 1.5-ton payloads into orbit 600 kilometres to 800 kilometres above the Earth. 

South Korea has invested about US $1.7 billion since 2010 to build the three-stage rocket.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has overseen the launch. On Wednesday, the 200-ton, 47-metre rocket was carried to the launch pad.

Liquid-fuel boosters power the rocket's three stages. There are a cluster of four 75-ton boosters in the first stage, a 75-ton booster in the second stage, and a 7-ton booster in the third stage. 

South Korea had relied on other countries to launch its satellites since the early 1990s.

In 2013, after several delays and failed tests, South Korea launched Naro-1, which was jointly built with Russia. 

Now, with the successful test launch of NURI, the country has moved a step towards becoming the 10th nation to send a satellite into space with its own technology. 

The country is also planning to send more advanced communication satellites into space. They hope to send a probe to the moon by 2030.