Space agency in final checks ahead of next week's Nuri rocket launch
Park Jong-chan, director of the Korean Launch Vehicle Enhancement Program at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, speaks during a meeting with reporters at the space agency's launch site in the southern coastal village of Goheung, South Jeolla Province, Sept. 17. Yonhap
Korea's space agency is undertaking final inspections for the fourth launch of the country's homegrown Nuri space rocket scheduled for next week, a senior official said Wednesday.
Park Jong-chan, director of the Korean Launch Vehicle Enhancement Program at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), told Yonhap News Agency all inspections will be completed by Monday.
The Nuri, formally the Korea Space Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-II), is set for launch from the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 1 a.m. next Thursday.
"We have connected the third-stage rocket to the first and second stages, and we are carrying out the final electronic inspection on the integrated launch vehicle," Park said.
"When the process is completed, all inspections that can be conducted during the assembly phase will have been finished," he added.
Park said experts will then inspect the rocket's exterior and deliver it to the launch pad on Tuesday.
The director noted there had been some concerns as the project is being carried out jointly with Hanwha Aerospace, with the private firm handling the entire assembly process.
"And we conducted many inspections to remove such concerns," Park said.
In July, the Korean defense and space company signed a 24 billion-won ($16.4 million) contract to acquire technologies related to the homegrown Nuri space rocket from KARI.
The transfer was part of the government's long-term plan to hand over space technologies to the private sector.
"Following the contract, we have been sharing data (with Hanwha)," he said.
Under the agreement, Hanwha Aerospace received technologies covering the entire lifecycle of launch vehicle development, including design, manufacturing and launch operations.
With this contract, Hanwha Aerospace has secured the exclusive rights to manufacture and launch the Nuri rocket through 2032.