South Korea Fails to Put Satellite In Orbit
BY JASON STROTHER, VOA News
Seoul — South Korea has launched a rocket that was intended to place a satellite into space. However, the satellite has failed to go into orbit.
At 5 p.m., the Korea Space Launch Vehicle 1 blasted off from South Korea’s Naro Space Center.
The KSLV 1 carried a satellite that South Korea’s space agency intended to put into orbit 300 kilometers above the earth.
Speaking after the launch, Ahn Byong-man South Korea’s minister of Education, Science and Technology, thanked the nation for its support.
Ahn says after the lift off, the first and second stage engines were operating fine and that the rocket’s separation with the satellite was successful. But it exceeded its desired orbit and separated at a higher altitude. The space agency will investigate what went wrong.
Tuesday’s launch comes after a series of setbacks. Most recently, the original lift off date of August 19 was scrapped due to technical problems.
The KSLV 1 was constructed primarily using Russian technology. But By 2018, South Korea plans to launch space-bound vehicles entirely manufactured domestically.
South Korea’s rocketry program lags behind those of its neighbors Japan and China. And rival North Korea already has launched rockets into space.
In April, Pyongyang says it put a communications satellite into orbit during a successful rocket launch. However, Washington, Tokyo and Seoul contend that North Korea’s satellite never made it into outer space. They condemned the launch as a cover-up for a long-range missile test.
North Korea said earlier this month that it would closely watch the international community’s response to South Korea’s rocket launch. A statement carried by official media there accused other nations of not treating North Korea’s space exploration program equally.
South Korean officials reject comparisons with Pyongyang’s rocket launches. They say that unlike the North’s space program, the South’s is not done in secret and is done for peaceful research. South Korea has previously placed its satellites into orbit using rockets launched by other countries.
FOLLOW-UP
S Korean satellite lost shortly after launch: gov’t Yonhap – August 26, 2009
First one was Russian rocket.
Second one will be Japanese rocket.
Where have all the American rockets gone?
First one was Russian rocket.
Second one will be Japanese rocket.
While Chinese rocket sleeps on chair,
North Korean rocket may make south Korean day.
Who knows
Where all the American rockets have gone?
On 2009/08/25 19:59 KST, Yonhap News posted a report as follows:
S Korea’s first space rocket launch fails to send satellite into orbit
By Lee Joon-seung
NARO SPACE CENTER, South Korea, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) — South Korea failed to become the 10th country in the world to send a satellite into orbit from its soil after its first space rocket “overshot” its trajectory during Tuesday’s launch.
The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) that blasted off from the Naro Space Center at 5 p.m. delivered its satellite payload far above its intended orbit, despite successful ignition and separation of its first and second stage rockets, the government said.
It said preliminary data placed the final satellite separation at around 342km, compared to the 306km that was anticipated.
“There is a need to carefully examine all data related to the satellite,” Education and Science Minister Ahn Byong-man told reporters.
He claimed that because the KSLV-1 functioned properly and reached space, the rocket liftoff itself should be viewed as a “half-success” and that every effort will be made to ensure the success of the next launch, slated for May 2010.
The first-stage liquid fueled rocket was made in Russia, but the second stage was made in South Korea, along with the fairing assembly that housed the scientific satellite.
The minister stressed the launch would provide valuable experience for future space exploration efforts.
Related to the launch, KARI President Lee Joo-jin said efforts are underway to determine how the satellite separated so far above its proper orbit trajectory.
“Since the 100kg scientific satellite does not have any on-board propulsion systems, if it fails to enter proper orbit there is no way to correct its trajectory,” the expert said.
He declined to say whether the satellite was lost or if it went into orbit, but cannot be found.
Related to the launch, a unidentified source at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said there is a chance that the fairings that cover the satellite did not separate properly, which may have been the main cause of the mishap.
The government had said the fairings had successfully separated in the ascent.
South Korea spent 502.5 billion won (US$402.4 million) on the development of the 140t KSLV-1, which stands 33m tall and has a diameter of 2.9m. It also built the scientific satellite.
The launch of the KSLV-1, also called the Naro-1, was delayed seven times, with the last postponement taking place Wednesday, when the countdown was halted with less than eight minutes on the countdown clock.
14:17 25/08/2009 in Moscow time, Ria-Novosti posted a report as follows:
S Korea’s first self-launched satellite fails to reach set orbit
MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) – The first satellite launched by South Korea failed to reach its designated orbit pattern on Tuesday, the Yonhap news agency has reported.
The two-staged KSLV-1 rocket failed to deliver the 100-kilogram oceanic and atmospheric research satellite into its target orbit. The rocket was launched from the Naro Space Center, 485 kilometers (300 miles) south of the capital Seoul.
“We can not find the satellite in its designated orbit,” South Korean Science Minister Ahn Byung-man said at a press conference in Seoul.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russia’s Khrunichev space center, which developed the carrier rocket, said the satellite was in orbit.
South Korea’s science minister said the attempt was a “partial flop” and there was so far no explanation for the failure.
South Korea began developing its own space program in 1996. Seoul has already launched 11 satellites since 1992, using foreign carrier rockets and launch sites.
North Korea launched a multistage rocket on April 5 that it said was carrying a communications satellite, in defiance of international pressure from the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries, which condemned the test launch of a Taepodong-2 long-range missile.
On 25.08.2009, 18.43 in Mosow time, Itar-Tass posted a report as follows:
Russian partners congratulate South Korea on successful space rocket launch
SEOUL, August 25 (Itar-Tass) — South Korea successfully launched its first space rocket, KSLV-1 (The First Korean Space Launch Vehicle), on Tuesday.
The rocket, which cost approximately $406 million, delivered a 100-kilogram satellite to orbit.
The 140-tonne rocket is 33 meters long and 2.9 meters in diameter. It makes South Korea a new member of the space club – the states that have their launch centers and use domestic technologies to put satellites in orbit.
The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) estimated the economic effect of the space launch at $1.8 billion. According to the institute, the satellite will have a good effect on the construction industry, create jobs and boost exports.
Russian partners congratulated South Korea on the success. The project is based on the bilateral intergovernmental agreement on peaceful uses of outer space, a source at the Khrunichev Aerospace Center told Itar-Tass.
“Russia and South Korea agreed on the joint design of the space launch vehicle, KSLV. The contract was signed in October 2004,” the source said.
Khrunichev designed the first stage of the rocket, and South Korea made the second stage and the payload. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) ordered the rocket. Energomash designed and produced the first stage’s engine, and the Transport Machine Building Design Bureau helped build the land infrastructure of the Naro space center.