South Korea Sends First Homegrown Rocket to Space

In a groundbreaking achievement today, South Korea has launched its first indigenous rocket into space. The launch marks an important milestone in the country’s space program but is just the beginning.

A report by a local news outlet indicates that the rocket named Nuri was used to place 13 satellites into orbit during a night operation at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, a coastal village located 473 kilometers south of Seoul.

The successful rocket launch places the country on the same level with other countries that have been running their space programs such as China, and makes it a leader in space technology in South East Asia. 

South Korea’s Breakthrough in Space Technology

Nuri launch is a significant milestone in South Korea’s space technology ambition. The country through this feat is transitioning from government-led to private sector-led space development. Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon during a briefing after the launch said:

“This successful fourth launch not only reaffirms that Korea has secured independent space-transport capabilities, but also marks the first government-industry joint launch executed as a single team. It represents an important turning point as Korea’s space-industry ecosystem shifts from a government-centered model to one led by the private sector.”

Weighing 200 tons, Nuri took off from the Naro Space Center travelling at exactly 1:13 am. The Korea Aerospace Administration affirmed that the first, second, and third stages of the launch including engine burns and fairing separation all happened as scheduled. 

The fourth stage and the delivery of its primary payload, the CAS500-3 next-generation medium-sized satellite and 12 cube satellites happened at the planned 600km altitude, marking the successful completion of the launch. According to space.com, the 500kg satellite will study Earth’s auroras and airglow, two of the planet’s most intriguing natural phenomena.

Barron Trump Commends South Korea 

The launch of Nuri has received international attention, even in the U.S. Son of president Donald Trump, Barron Trump has commended South Korea for Nuri’s launch, comparing the country to America which he referred to as a country obsessed with “collapsing into woke nonsense.”

The account followers have leveraged the new location-revealing platform to reveal that it is not based in the U.S. but instead Europe. However, such conclusions may be inaccurate as the accuracy of the location feature is still being contested. 

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