S. Korea's first space rocket safe for launch: official

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 3, 7-9, 11)
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Aug. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea can move forward with its first space
rocket launch within the month following clarification on a "technical issue"
discovered in the engine, a government official said Friday.

Moon Hai-joo, the official in charge of coordinating the launch, said Russian
engineers checked the data anomaly in the engine test carried out late last month
and confirmed the spike in the support booster pump was the result of a
diagnostic glitch, not a structural problem.
If there is a structural problem in this part, it can cause a so-called
cavitation effect in the main turbo pump impellers, which leads to engine failure
in very serious cases.
"The conclusion was reached because despite the abnormal higher revolution
numbers detected, there was no change in thrust and pressure levels in the main
turbo pump, or problems in the flow of fuel and oxidation materials that would
have been affected," the official said. Of the 100 different systems checked,
engineers found just one problem that required cross-checking.
South Korea, with no experience in the launching of a space rocket, has been
working with Russia to build the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1). Russia's
Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is responsible for building
and testing the main first-stage rocket.
"Russian engineers suggested that the launch could take place from Aug. 14-16,
but we have asked that a responsible (Russian) official 'confirm' the latest
analysis," the director general said.
He added that once a senior Russian official attests to the safety of the rocket
and ascertains that the technical issue discovered does not pose a risk to the
launch, Seoul will hold an independent review panel headed by a vice minister to
decide on the date of the launch.
Moon declined to say when a new launch date would be set, although it could
technically take place within a week of the review panel being convened.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), responsible for assembly, said the
KSLV-1 has been assembled and can be readied for launch with minimum preparation
at the Naro Space Center 485km south of Seoul.
The launch was originally scheduled for July 30, but was pushed back to Aug. 11
and again postponed following the discovery of an abnormal spike in the booster
pump's revolutions during the engine "hot fire test" conducted outside Moscow.
Seoul had informed the International Civil Aviation Organization and the
International Maritime Organization that the KSLV-1 would be launched between
Aug. 11 and Aug. 18. It may have to re-notify these agencies of a new "launch
window" if the launch does not take place next week.
The KSLV-1 project started in August 2002 and cost 502.5 billion won (US$408.8
million) to develop and build. Direct payment for the rocket itself reached $200
million.
The rocket stands 33m tall, has a diameter of 2.9m and weighs 140 tons. The
first-stage main booster rocket made in Russia, while the smaller, second-stage
can generate 8 tons of thrust and built locally. The rocket is designed to put a
100kg scientific satellite into orbit.
A second KSLV-1 will be launched in 2010, with provisions in place for a third
launch if one of the two scheduled launches fail.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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