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(Rocket Launch) (6th LD) S. Korea stops rocket launch due to technical glitch
By Lee Joon-seung
NARO SPACE CENTER, South Korea, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea suspended Wednesday the launch of its first space rocket with just under eight minutes remaining in the countdown due to a technical glitch.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), said mission controllers decided to suspend the launch of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) and remove its fuel and oxidation agents. The rocket was scheduled for a 5 p.m. launch (Seoul Time).
Mission controllers also re-connected the rocket to the clamp-like erector arms of the launch pad that were withdrawn as the countdown began.
"The automatic launch sequence automatically turned off due to a problem that was detected in the countdown," said Lee Sang-mok, deputy minister of science and technology policy.
Without going into details, he said a movable valve operated by helium failed to function properly due to weak pressure inside a tank.
He said that kerosene fuel will be extracted and held in storage along with oxidation agents that were injected an hour before the scheduled blastoff.
The official said about three days may be needed to extract all the fuel and agents.
"South Korean and Russian experts will carefully check the cause of the problem in the valve and decide whether to take the KSLV-1 back to the rocket assembly complex or refuel for blastoff at the launch pad," he said.
"We have no experience in such matters, with the every effort being made to ensure that the rocket is checked and the cause found," Lee said.
Others, like Park Jeong-joo, the director of KARI's KSLV System Office, said the problem cited was not detected in the full-fledged rehearsal of the launch carried out Tuesday because engineers did not inject fuel or put machinery under high pressure.
The state-run institute added that while the delay is a disappointment, such developments frequently occur in launching rockets.
It said the launches of Europe's Ariane 5 and the United States' Endeavor were stopped three and six times, respectively.
KARI, meanwhile, said that no launch will take place within the day, and that a new date will have to be set after consultation with experts from Russia, which made the first stage, main booster rocket.
South Korea, which has no experience in the launch of rockets, has been working with Russia to build a powerful space rocket able to carry a satellite into orbit.
The suspension marks the seventh time that the project, which began in 2002, has required Seoul to reschedule the liftoff date.
KARI, meanwhile, said engineers will be allowed to get close to the rocket again after 9 p.m. All personnel were evacuated prior to the launch.
The KSLV-1, also called the Naro-1, stands 33m tall with a diameter of 2.9m. Its main first stage liquid-fuel rocket, made in Russia, can generate 170t of thrust. The second stage rocket, made indigenously, can generate 8t of thrust and is designed to place a satellite into orbit.
If the launch takes place, South Korea will become the world's 10th country to send a locally made satellite into orbit from its own soil on a rocket assembled domestically.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)
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