S. Korea delays first rocket launch until July

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SEOUL, March 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's first space rocket launch has been put
off until late July to allow engineers more time to check safety systems, the
government said Thursday.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said inspections at the Naro
Space Center launch pad are taking more time than previously anticipated.
The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) mission will mark the first time South
Korea has directly launched a rocket into space from its soil. In the past, South
Korea has relied on foreign rockets launched abroad to send its satellites into
space.
Originally, the rocket was slated to blast off late last year, but delays in the
arrival of the main booster rocket and key parts for the launch pad caused the
date to be postponed until the second quarter of this year.
"The latest adjustment of the launch date reflects the need to ensure a
successful launch that requires more work by engineers," Lee Sang-mok, deputy
minister for science and technology policy, said. He pointed out that instead of
checking only 99 systems related to the launch pad, 348 are being checked.
Seoul has spent a total of 502.5 billion won (US$337.9 million) since 2002 on the
two-stage KLSV-1, which is set to carry a small experimental satellite into
space. Policymakers have said plenty of preparation time should be given because
the failure rate for first space rocket launches is very high.
The rocket weighs 140 tons fully loaded with fuel and measures 33 meters in
height, with a diameter of 2.9 meters. It was jointly built by the state-run
Korea Aerospace Research Institute and Russia's Khrunichev State Research and
Production Space Center.
The ministry in charge of the project said the exact date of the launch will
likely be decided in June, although weather conditions may cause additional
delays.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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