S.Korea builds space center for satellite launches

The Naro Space Center, about 500 km (311 miles miles) south of Seoul, covers an area of over 5 square km (1.9 square miles). The construction cost totaled $248.6 million, according to the country's Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. On June 30, the country is scheduled to launch its first rocket, KSLV-1 (Korea Space Launch Vehicle) carrying a research satellite. "If the launch scheduled for July 30 is successful, South Korea will become a member of the 'space club' whose members have developed their own rockets and satellites and sent this into space from a launch facility on their own soil," Yonhap quoted Min Kyung-ju, the head of the Naro center, as saying. KSLV-1, which was built in cooperation with Russia, is based on the Angara carrier rocket. The carrier rocket is designed to deliver small satellites into low orbit and can carry a payload of up to 100 kg (220 lbs). A second, more powerful rocket named KSLV-2 could be created and launched by 2018 without foreign assistance. It is expected to be a 50-meter (164-foot) three-stage rocket, capable of carrying up to one metric ton of payload; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.