S. Korea's ready to launch first space rocket

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 2, 5, 10; ADDS from para 15)
By Lee Joon-seung
GOHEUNG, South Korea, June 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea officially unveiled its
first space center on Thursday that will help the country place satellites in
orbit and form a base for its efforts to develop indigenous rocket technology.

The Naro Space Center, located 485 km south of Seoul, covers 5.07 million square
meters and was built at a cost of 312.4 billion won (US$250.1 million), with
construction beginning in earnest in January 2005, the state-run Korea Aerospace
Research Institute (KARI) said.
The sprawling complex will play a pivotal role in the country's future rocket
development and space exploration program and is equipped with a state-of-the-art
mission director center, flight safety control facilities and launch pad.
Naro on the southern coast also houses a meteorological observatory, radar and
optical tracking systems to follow the trajectory of all rockets launched, and a
rocket assembly facility that can help local engineers develop liquid fuel main
booster engines.
President Lee Myung-bak, who was present for the opening ceremony attended by
1,100 guests, said the government is committed to expanding a national space
program that can become a source of national competitiveness and growth.
"The world economy is suffering and our economy is no exception, but we cannot
give up the future just because current conditions are difficult," he said.
The president said that in the last century, countries that controlled the sea
and air ruled the world, but in the 21st century those that effectively make use
of space will become leading countries.
Lee, in addition, said that Seoul will concentrate its resources to become one of
the seventh leading space exploration countries within the decade.
KARI director Lee Joo-jin echoed the president's remarks on expanding the space
program and pointed out the country has come a long way since 1995 when it
started developing its first multipurpose satellite.
"South Korea began space development more than 40 years after countries like the
United States and Russia, with many foreign experts having claimed it would be a
miracle for South Korea to ever build a satellite," he said. The director,
however, said that in the last 15 years, the country has shown over and over
again that it could achieve the impossible.
He stressed that the goal that lies in front of the country is to build a fully
indigenous space rocket that can carry 10 times the payload of the Korea Space
Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) within the next nine years.
The KSLV-1 called the Naro-1 rocket is scheduled to be launched from the Naro
center on July 30, and built with Russian cooperation.
KARI, meanwhile, said that the successful launch of the rocket will make South
Korea the 13th member of the so-called "space club" comprising countries that
currently operate space centers and can send satellites into orbit using
indigenous rockets.
The Naro-1 cost 502.5 billion won to build. It stands 33 meters tall, has a
diameter of 3 meters and is capable of 170 ton thrust with the main booster
engine that can send the 100 kilogram scientific satellite into orbit.
The space agency in charge of the country's space exploration program added that
for the future, Seoul plans to launch its second KSLV-1 rocket in April 2010, and
conduct tests needed to build an indigenous liquid fueled rocket engine. At
present the country lack the knowhow to make rocket engines, although its has
acquired most other technologies related to the launching of a space rocket.
Seoul has outlined a long range plan to send a unmanned probe into the Moon's
orbit in 2020 and build a lunar lander five years later in an effort to catch up
with established regional space powers such as Japan, China and India.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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