Software delayed KSLV-1 launch

The Korea Herald

GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province - Errors in the software related to measuring pressure have led to the halt of the launch of Korea's first space rocket, Naro, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said yesterday.

The automatic sequence, a system that checks valves and sensors in the rocket, detected a drop in pressure in a helium high-pressure tank and halted the liftoff with 7 minutes and 56 seconds remaining in the countdown on Wednesday. The tank operates various valves in the rocket.

The software system erroneously recognized the pressure decrease and there was no problem with the hardware, officials said. It is expected to take one to three days to analyze and rectify the errors.

"The software saw what could not be seen as an error, as an error. It was a problem concerning the software recognition," said Lee Ju-jin, head of the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

Vice Science Minister Kim Jung-hyun said that the ministry will do its utmost to launch the rocket within the launch window which extends through to next Wednesday.

"We need time to fix and check the software. A new launch date will be set after all technical issues are addressed," Kim said during a press briefing.

"After Aug. 26, we need to notify the international organizations again of (a new launch date), and then it will take some time. We will try our best to launch the rocket within the launch window."

The two-stage rocket, which is to carry a 100-kilogram experimental satellite into a low earth orbit, was moved yesterday from the launch pad to the assembly complex so workers would address the software issues, officials said.

South Korea cancels satellite launch

The Korean Aerospace Research Institute's KSLV-1, on its launching pad after the scheduled launch was suspended on Wednesday. (Getty Images)

Mark McDonald
New York Times

South Korea canceled the first satellite launching from its own territory on Wednesday only seven minutes before the planned liftoff, attributing the decision to a technical problem.

The terminated mission seemed to avert, for the moment, a new flare-up of tensions with North Korea, which has been condemned internationally for launching its own rockets and has said the United Nations should apply the same punitive standards to the South. South Korea’s aerospace officials told reporters at the Naro Space Center that they had canceled the launching because of a glitch in the in the automatic launching sequence, perhaps as a result of a faulty high-pressure tank. It was unclear why the problem was discovered with only a few minutes before the final countdown.

Read the article HERE.

ROK completes Naro Space Center

Windsor Genova
AHN

Seoul - South Korea has completed building the country's $249 million space center after eight years of work, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) said Wednesday.

The Naro Space Center is located 300 miles south of the capital Seoul and has an area of 1,252 acres. It will build rockets and launch South Korean satellites into orbit, MEST said.

The state-of-the-art mission control center has launch and flight safety control facilities, launch pad, meteorological observatory and both radar and optical tracking systems to follow the trajectory of all rockets launched, the ministry said, according to Joongangdaily.joins.com.

The center will launch its first two-stage rocket called Korea Satellite Launch Vechile-1 or Naro-1 on July 30. The launch will make South Korea the 13th country capable of sending satellites into orbit.

The Naro-1, which can carry a payload of 220 pounds, will send a small scientific satellite into orbit.

The center will build a second rocket scheduled to be launched in 2018, Yoo Guk-hee, head of the ministry's space development division, told Joong Ang Daily. The second Naro rocket will send an unmanned lunar orbiter in 2020, according to Yoo.

Korea Heads to Outer Space

Digital Chosunilbo

Korea's first astronaut Yi So-yeon embarks on her important mission into outer space Tuesday. At 8 p.m. on April 8 (Korea Standard Time), a Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Yi will begin its final countdown at a launch site in Kazakhstan. Following a 50-hour flight into space, Yi will stay for 10 days at the International Space Station, orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 350 km, where she will conduct various scientific experiments.

With the launch, Korea will become the world's 35th country to produce an astronaut. It's a bit late for a country boasting the world's 13th largest economy, but the significance of the event is huge nonetheless. Yi was chosen as the final candidate after a nationwide search. The entire 49 million population of South Korea has come together in heart and mind, watching the full process of Yi's selection to her ascent aboard the spacecraft. She carries with her the dreams and ardent wishes of her people toward space.

In June of this year, the Naro Space Center opens in Goheung County, South Jeolla Province. And come December, a homegrown rocket will deliver Korea's second scientific satellite into orbit. If successful, Korea will become the ninth country in the world to launch a satellite using its own technology. 2008 will open a new era in space exploration for Korea.

But we still have a long way to go. Our neighbors Japan and China launched lunar exploration satellites into orbit last year. India will soon follow suit. China is also the third country in the world to succeed in launching a manned spacecraft using its own technology. Korea plans to send a lunar exploration module in 2020, while a launch of a manned Korean spacecraft is unthinkable thus far.

Countries around the world are joining the space race for reasons that go beyond national pride. It's because of the spill-over effect such endeavors have on a country's economy, as well as its science, technology, military and national security.

Most of all, Yi will be the best teacher who can widen the dreams of Korean children, so they may expand them into outer space. Her will to take on new challenges, to explore new things and to accomplish the mission set before her will leave an indelible mark on the minds of our children, so they may have the courage to take on new challenges and realize infinite new possibilities.