Naro space rocket makes successfully makes contact with Norwegian station

South Korea's space rocket blasted off successfully Wednesday from the Naro Space Center on the country's southern coast and made contact with a station in Norway hours later.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), also known as Naro, lifted off at 4 p.m. No apparent problems have been observed since its takeoff from the launch site, located 480 kilometers south of Seoul.

The 170-ton thrust space rocket is designed to reach its target orbit in 9 minutes following its takeoff.

Whether the launch was successful will initially be determined approximately 140 minutes after the launch when the rocket's payload, Science and Technology Satellite-2C, transmits its first beacon signal.

A final judgment will be available around 5 a.m. Thursday (local time) when the satellite makes its first contact with the country's ground station at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.

Wednesday's launch marked Seoul's third attempt to join the global space club after its two earlier attempts in 2009 and 2010 ended in failures.

The third launch of Naro had also been scheduled to take place on Oct. 26 and again on Nov. 29, but was delayed both times due to defective parts.