(LEAD) Seoul to set rocket launch date after data review: official

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout)
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will reset the launch date for its first
space rocket after vetting a technical problem with the rocket's engine, a
government official said Thursday.

Citing a "technical issue" with the engine, Seoul has postponed liftoff for the
Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) for the second time in less than two weeks.
The launch was originally scheduled for July 30, but was pushed back to Tuesday,
and then postponed again.
"Test data sent by Russia, which developed the rocket, showed a spike in the
output of a secondary booster pump that is used to raise the pressure of
oxidation agents before it is injected into the main turbo pump," said Moon
Hai-joo, a senior official at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
The pump is important because if it fails to function properly, it can cause
"cavitation" in the main booster's impellers that can cause the engines to fail
or explode in very serious cases, he said.
"At present, engineers are trying to determine if the spike is the result of
problems in the pump itself or a malfunction in the diagnostic equipment," the
official said, adding that a "ruling" on how to interpret the spike should arrive
from Russia in the near future.
He said the problem found was the only one to show up among 100 parameters
checked in the hot fire test conducted on the KSLV-1 rocket in Russia late last
month.
South Korea, which has no experience in launching a space rocket capable of
carrying a satellite into orbit, has been working with Russia to build the
KSLV-1. Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is
responsible for building and testing the main first-stage rocket.
Moon said that once the assessment by engineers is cleared up, Seoul will hold a
meeting of its own experts headed by the vice science minister to establish a
definitive launch date.
However, he said if there is a single objection raised by experts, the launch may
have to be delayed until the problem is fixed.
Others said that any decision to launch will not be affected by prior schedules,
including the launch dates forwarded to the International Civil Aviation
Organization and the International Maritime Organization.
Seoul said it will launch the KSLV-1 on Aug. 11, but maintained a launch window
until Aug. 18 in case of bad weather.
The rocket, developed at a cost of 502.5 billion won (US$410.6 million), stands
33m tall, has a diameter of just under 3m and weighs 140 tons.
The first-stage main booster rocket made in Russia has a thrust of 170 tons,
while the smaller, second-stage rocket can generate 8 tons of thrust and is built
locally. The rocket is designed to put a 100kg scientific satellite into orbit.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)