South Korea sends rocket into space from new launch facility

William Atkins
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 19:31

Science - Space

The rocket is capable of launching a satellite with a mass of 100 kilograms (220 equivalent-pounds of weight on Earth) into a low-Earth orbit (LEO) of about 300 kilometers (186 miles).

The rocket reportedly cost approximately US$400 million to build.

Previous to this launch, all space missions launched by South Korea had been performed with rockets made by other countries and sent into space at foreign space centers.

The rocket’s payload was a South-Korean built satellite designed to monitor Earth’s atmosphere and oceans.

South Korea is now one of nine countries (United States, Russia, Japan, France, China, India, Israel, and Iran) that have launched domestically built satellites from their own country or territories.

For additional news on the South Korean launch, please read August 25, 2009 The New York Times article “South Korea Launches Satellite.”