By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province ― The decision to abort the launch of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) was an unexpected order that came during the final countdown, Wednesday. Korean and Russian scientists gathered to see what went wrong but later kept their press briefing simple, telling reporters to wait for the results of a more detailed investigation.
The outcome was an anticlimax to the maiden launch of a South Korean rocket of this scale, which had been delayed six times prior to its positioning on the launch pad.
But few reporters pressed for answers to the problem, knowing the importance of the launch as part of Korea's nascent space program.
Engineers here at the Naro Space Center say that preparations for a second attempted launch may take days, if not weeks.
Using a 170-ton thrust Russian rocket engine to push a simple, 100-kilogram satellite into orbit was a reminder that the KSLV-1 project was a more highly-anticipated litmus test than a serious space mission.
Russia's Khrunichev State Space Science and Production Center, which is providing the technology for the project, developed and delivered the KSLV-1 first stage that contains the liquid-fueled propulsion system in a deal that bans any technology transfer, following a technology safeguards agreement (TSA) signed between Russia and Korea.
The Russians will provide another launch at Naro early next year and could be involved in a possible third launch around 2011.
It's difficult to measure how much Korea is gaining technology wise by launching a space rocket from its own soil when they are left in the dark about the most critical part of the process. And the Naro spaceport isn't expected to be used for nearly another decade until Korean engineers come up with a KSLV-11, which is expected to be ``80 percent'' made in Korea'' in terms of components usage.
However, officials at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the country's space agency calls the experience ``invaluable.''
Although the engineering and design work on the rocket's first stage was off limits, the Korean engineers did collaborate with their Russian counterparts on designing the overall shape, size and structure of the two-stage rocket. Assembling and testing the rocket and its subsystems, as well as transporting the rocket and spacecraft to the launch pad, were also critical experiences that can't be discounted.
KARI was responsible for delivering the solid-fuel second-stage of the KSLV-1, which carried the satellite, and also the related ground support equipment.
All this will contribute when the country takes on the real test _ the KSLV-II, which will generate around 300 tons in thrust and be capable of carrying a 1.5-ton spacecraft, to be delivered sometime after 2018, KARI officials said.
Although it is relying on Russian rocket engines for now, KARI has been developing its own rocket engines and is now reporting some progress. The Koreans have a liquid-fueled rocket engine, with a 30-ton trust, that is a propulsion test away from completion. KARI engineers are currently developing a rocket engine that generates a 75-ton thrust, and said that their collaboration with the Khrunichev Center has been a productive learning experience.
``I think we will learn a lot just by working next to a master and witnessing his work,'' said KARI President Lee Ju-jin.
``Of course, there will be a difference between what an elementary school kid can pick up and what a college student can pick up. We used to be the kid technology wise, but I think we have advanced to a point where we can call ourselves a college student.''
As in any other industrial area, Korea sees Japan as a benchmark for space technology. Japan first launched its N1 rocket in 1975, which was capable of carrying a 130-kilogram satellite, by acquiring most of the parts from U.S. company McDonald-Douglas which has since become part of Boeing.
American ingenuity was also critical to the N2 rocket blast off in 1981, but the efforts came to fruit when Japan launched H2 in 1994, an entirely homemade rocket with a payload of around 2,000 kilograms. Now, Korea is hoping that the Khrunichev Center could prove to be its own McDonald-Douglas.
According to a rosy report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET), a successful launch of KSLV-1 will have an economic effect valued at around 1.7 to 2.3 trillion won, considering the advancements in related technologies and industries as well as the improved ``national brand image.'' That would more than make up for the seven years and 502.5 billion won (about $405.5 million) the country spent on KSLV-1.
Companies like Hyundai Heavy Industries, which built the Naro launch pad, and Korean Air, which participated in assembling the two-stage rocket, will certainly benefit from acquiring important core technologies, KIET said.
Although it's debatable how much the KSLV-1 should be credited as an achievement, the country has been making important advancements in rocket technology over the past two decades, under an ambitious space program that plans to launch a spacecraft to orbit the moon by 2025.
An important start was the Korea Sounding Rocket (KSR) program, which started in 1993 under the National Space Program. Five rockets were launched under this program that continued until 2002, including two for the Korea Sounding Rocket (KSR) 1 series, two for the KSR-II Series and one in KSR-III.
The first rocket fired in 1993, which was the country's first ever scientific research rocket that was assigned for ozone observations, was a solid-fuel model that was 6.7 meters long and weighed 1.2 tons and reached an altitude of 39 kilometers.
Nine years later, the KSR-III, fired in 2002, was the country's first liquid-fuel rocket. Using kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellant, it proved that the country had made significant advancements in acquiring core technologies for developing satellite launch vehicles.
The KSR-II, launched in an experiment ground 160 kilometers southwest of Seoul, reached an altitude of 42.7 kilometers and flew over 84 kilometers in 231 seconds.
The experience in developing KSR-III, which includes designing the propellant tank, combustion chamber, fuel feeding systems and rocket engine nozzles to control flight, contributed in the Korean efforts to develop technologies for the KSLV-1 project, KARI officials said. The country has also seen advancement in satellite technologies, including the multipurpose satellite, Arirang-2, that was launched in 2006 and currently used for Earth observation.
The construction of the Naro Space Center, which the company spent more than 312.2 billion won on since 2000, was obviously a landmark achievement.
The 5.11 million-square-meter space center is built around a complex that includes the launch pad and erector, a launch control center, a ground-based observation center, a tracking radar, an electro optical tracking system and other high-tech equipment.
According to KARI, Korea has advanced in designing rocket structures and electronic systems to about 80 percent of the level of more advanced nations such as the United States and Russia.
KARI is also convinced that its technologies for constructing launch pads and designing control systems are at an ``applicable'' level, although developing a liquid-fuel rocket engine is an area in which the country can use more help.