Korea's space rocket launch delayed due to strong winds

People visit the Naro Space Center Space Science Museum in Goheung, Southern Jeolla Province, June 13. Yonhap

Korea has decided to postpone the scheduled launch of the Nuri space rocket by one day due to strong winds at the launch site, the science ministry said Tuesday.

The country was originally planning to launch the domestically developed Nuri, Wednesday, eight months after a first trial in October ended in partial success. The launch has now been moved to Thursday.

In October, Nuri successfully flew to a target altitude of 700 kilometers but failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit as its third-stage engine burned out earlier than expected.

Unlike the first launch, which carried a dummy satellite, actual satellites will be on the rocket this time. Nuri also underwent reinforcements of an anchoring device of the helium tank inside the third-stage oxidizer tank.

Nuri, also known as KSLV-II (Korea Space Launch Vehicle), is set to lift off from the Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung.

The rocket is a three-stage, liquid-fueled carrier rocket developed entirely with local technologies. Nearly 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) has been spent to develop the Nuri since 2010. (Yonhap)