South Korea achieved a significant milestone in its space program early Thursday by successfully launching its largest satellite to date aboard the nationally developed Nuri rocket. This marks the fourth successful launch in a series of six planned missions extending through 2027.
Historic Launch Details
The three-stage Nuri rocket blasted off from the Naro Space Center, located on an island off the southwestern coastal county of Goheung. Aerospace officials confirmed that the rocket successfully placed a 516-kilogram science satellite along with 12 microsatellites into their target orbit approximately 600 kilometers above Earth. The Korea Aerospace Administration is currently monitoring the satellites to verify they are properly transmitting signals back to Earth.
Advanced Satellite Capabilities
The primary satellite carries sophisticated equipment including a wide-range airglow camera designed to observe auroral activity. It also features separate systems for measuring plasma and magnetic fields in space, plus equipment to test how various life-science experiments perform in microgravity conditions.
The twelve smaller cube satellites, developed by university teams and research institutions, include multiple advanced systems. These comprise GPS technology for studying Earth's atmosphere, infrared cameras capable of tracking plastic pollution in oceans, and systems for testing new solar cell designs and communication equipment.
South Korea's Space Ambitions
Thursday's launch represents the first Nuri rocket mission since May 2023, when South Korea successfully placed a 180-kilogram observation satellite into orbit. This marks the fourth overall launch since the initial attempt in October 2021, which unfortunately failed to deliver a dummy payload to its intended destination.
The Nuri rocket represents South Korea's first space launch vehicle built primarily with domestic technology, a crucial achievement for a nation that historically relied on other countries to launch its satellites since the 1990s. The rocket features five 75-ton-class engines in its first and second stages, complemented by a 7-ton-class engine in its third stage that releases payloads at the desired altitude.
South Korea has scheduled additional launches for 2026 and 2027 as part of its multiyear project to advance space technologies and industries. The program aims to narrow the technological gap with leading Asian space powers including China, Japan, and India.
The Naro Space Center, South Korea's only spaceport, witnessed its first successful launch in 2013 using a two-stage rocket developed with Russian technology. This achievement followed years of delays and multiple failures, including a 2009 test that reached target altitude but failed to deploy a satellite, and a 2010 attempt that ended in explosion shortly after liftoff.
