South Korea gives rocket launch a second shot

South Korea's space agency said the August 19 launch was aborted because of a glitch with pressure gauge software.

Fuel was removed from the rocket after the halt, requiring several days to reschedule.

The development of the rocket, the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, or Naro-1, depended heavily on Russia's Khrunichev space production center, which built the first stage booster, conducted tests and provided technical assistance.

The Naro-1 is 33 meters (108 ft) long and the two-stage rocket was built at a cost of 502.5 billion won ($400 million).

The launch is expected to rile prickly North Korea, which was hit by U.N. sanctions after its fired off a long-range rocket in April in what was widely seen as a disguised missile test. North Korea, which chastised the world body for the punishment, said earlier this month it was paying close attention to the South's rocket program, Kazinform cites Trend News. See www.en.trend.az for full version.