Korean mock-up launcher unveiled

Engineers of Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and Korean Air assemble the ground test vehicle (GTV), a mock-up of the KSLV-1 rocket, at KARI’s assembly complex in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. / Korea Times

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, the country’s first launch vehicle that will carry a satellite into orbit, has been unveiled at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province.

KSLV-1 consists of the upper part, which will be loaded with Science and Technology Satellite no.2, and the lower part, which will carry KSLV-1 from ground into space after launch. The 7.7m-high upper part was completed recently by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute with its own technology. The 25.8m-high lower part will be made in Russia and imported around January next year.

The KSLV-1, an experimental rocket unveiled last Thursday, is identical with the vehicle that will be launched into space next year in terms of design and performance. Cho Kwang-rae, chief of KARI's space launch vehicle project, said, "We plan to finish tests on the ground by February next year using an experimental rocket. We'll use four to five mock-ups of the lower part of the rocket for testing."