South Korea delays rocket launch
15:52, 9 June 2010
MOSCOW. June 9. KAZINFORM South Korea postponed Wednesday's planned launch of its KSLV-1 rocket due to technical problems, Russia's Khrunichev Space Center's spokesman said; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
"There will not be a launch today," the spokesman said.
The KSLV-1 (The First Korean Space Launch Vehicle), built in cooperation with Russia, was expected to blast off at noon Moscow time [8:00 GMT].
The Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology's official said problems with a fire extinguisher system at the Naro space center were to blame for the postponement.
The rocket was developed jointly by the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. It weighs 140 metric tons, has a diameter of 3 meters (10 feet) and a height of 33 meters (108 feet); Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.