Engineers confirm problem in S. Korea's space rocket

Korea and Russian engineers have confirmed the problem in South Korea's space rocket is more serious than earlier thought, the Seoul government said Monday, further delaying the scheduled launch of the rocket.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) was scheduled to be launched on Oct. 26, but the launch has been delayed at least until Friday due to a damaged rubber seal in a connector that links the rocket to its launch pad.

The Russian manufacturer of the first-stage rocket of the KSLV-1 has been working to identify the cause of the damage to the seal and has confirmed there is a gap between the rubber seal and steel component of the rocket.

The problem recurred when helium, which is used to pressurize the rocket's fuel tanks and also control various rocket devices, was injected for over three hours, according to South Korea's rocket Launch Preparation Committee.

The problem disappeared after the defective steel component in the connector was replaced with a spare part, it said.

"A new launch date will be set after all necessary tests and measures are first taken," the committee said in a press release.

The committee earlier set Nov. 9-24 as candidate launch dates.

The upcoming launch will be South Korea's third attempt to send the KSLV-1, also known as Naro-1, into space after its earlier attempts in August 2009 and June 2010 ended in failure. (Yonhap)