Chronology of major events leading to first space rocket launch

NARO SPACE CENTER, South Korea, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- The following is a chronology of major events related to South Korea's development and launch of its first space rocket.

August 2002 - South Korea and Russia confirm plans to develop the Korea Space
Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) rocket and begin design and construction work, with the
launch planned for 2005.

Sept. 21, 2004 - South Korea and Russia sign space technology cooperation pact.

Oct. 26, 2004 - The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) signs a cooperative
pact with Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center.

2005 - South Korea and Russia complete work on critical designs for the KSLV-1.
The original launch date, set for 2005, is postponed until October 2007.

September 2006 - The engineering model for the upper part of the rocket is
completed.

Oct. 12, 2006 - Seoul says the October 2007 launch date of the KSLV-1 will be
delayed by one year.

Oct. 17, 2006 - South Korea and Russia sign a Technology Safeguard Agreement.

July 2007 - The critical design for land-based launch support facilities is
acquired.

September 2007 - The qualification model of the upper part of rocket is completed.

November 2007 - A critical design review of rocket is conducted by South Korean
and Russian engineers.

December 2007 - Revisions to the cooperative pact are implemented, with a new
launch date set for late 2008.

July 23, 2008 - The South Korean government says the scheduled launch of the
first rocket will be postponed until 2009 due to delays in the arrival of the
main booster rocket and other key parts from abroad.

August 2008 - Russia builds a ground test vehicle (GTV) for the main booster of
the KSLV-1. Seoul says the first space rocket may be launched in the second
quarter of 2009.

March 12, 2009 - The launch delayed until late July to give engineers more time
to check safety systems.

May 10, 2009 - South Korea selects "Naro" as the name of its first space rocket.

June, 2009 - South Korea opens the Naro Space Center. Launch pad certification is
completed using KSLV-1 GTV. A complete first-stage rocket arrives from Russia by
plane.

July 17, 2009 - Launch is delayed due to complications in analyzing the fire test
of the main booster rocket.

July 30, 2009 - Russia successfully conducts a "hot fire test" on the KSLV-1 engine.

Aug. 1, 2009 - Seoul says the KSLV-1 has been rescheduled for launch on Aug. 11.

Aug. 4, 2009 - Russia informs Seoul a "technical issue" related to fire test data
from the engine will require more time to check.

Aug. 7, 2009 - The government says a "technical issue" was caused by a diagnostic
glitch in data processing, and that the rocket is safe for launch.

Aug. 11, 2009 - Seoul sets the new launch date for Aug. 19 after consultation
between South Korean and Russian engineers.

Aug. 19, 2009 - South Korea halts the countdown of the KSLV-1 with less than
eight minutes remaining before blastoff after the automatic launch sequence
system detects a problem in a high-pressure tank.

Aug. 20, 2009 - Engineers discover a minor software problem caused the countdown
to be halted and transport the rocket from the launch pad to the assembly complex
for repairs.

Aug. 25, 2009 - South Korea successfully launches its first space rocket from
Naro Space Center.

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