S. Korea gains valuable rocket building experience with KSLV-1

By Lee Joon-seung
NARO SPACE CENTER, South Korea, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has gained
valuable experience with the building of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1
(KSLV-1) rocket which can fuel the future development of its budding aerospace
industry, a state-run institute said Tuesday.

Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said that the rocket scheduled to be
launched on Wednesday has effectively allowed Seoul to understand how rockets are
designed, built and tested.
Since August 2002 when the project officially kicked off, KARI and private
companies such as Korean Air, Doosan Infracore Co. Samsung Techwin, Hyundai Heavy
Industries Co. and university laboratories have worked together to manufacture
key components and acquired the necessary expertise to send a rocket into space.
KARI was responsible for overall systems integration, with university
laboratories and businesses tasked with over 200 projects to design and build
parts that could not be bought.
Local engineers have learned how to make turbo pumps for liquid fueled rockets
required to make powerful boosters, and so-called solid fuel kick motors for the
second stage rocket that have been made in the country for the KSLV-1.
"The main booster is made by Russia but South Korea has made the second stage
rocket, the scientific satellite and gained insight into electronics, flight
control, navigation and systems integration," Park Jeong-joo, director of the
KSLV Systems Office said.
He claimed that with the exception of the rocket engine for the main, liquid-fuel
booster, South Korea has effectively acquired the technology to make its own
rockets from scratch without relying on foreign help.
Self-sufficiency is vital -- since foreign countries guard key aspects of rocket
technology for national security reasons -- and can permit Seoul to play a more
prominent role in commercial use of space.
Independent technology can also benefit the country since there is growing demand
to send up low-orbit earth satellites around the world that could be tapped by
South Korea.
In 2007, leading governments around the world spent US$78.3 billion on space
development projects, a 36 percent increase from the year before.
Industry sources said that in the next 10 years, countries may spend $1.06
trillion in the private space sector alone with the military side to be roughly
the same size.
A successful launch could also raise national pride and overseas recognition for
South Korea as a whole that can help the country's economic recovery process.
The KSLV-1 also called the Naro-1 cost 502.5 billion won (US$405.5 million) and
seven years to develop with South Korean engineers working with Russian
counterparts who have extensive experience in this field.
The rocket stands 33 meters tall with a diameter of 2.9 meters and weighs 140
tons. It is capable of sending a 100 kilogram satellite payload into an
ecliptical orbit around the Earth.
The first stage rocket built by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space
Center is capable of 170 tons of thrust. The main booster stands 25.8 meters high
and is designed to help the 140 ton rocket escape the Earth's gravity.
The second stage rocket built in South Korea and is powered by a "kick motor" and
uses solid fuel. It can generate 8 tons of thrust and will deliver the satellite
into its proper orbit.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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