South Korea plans to allocate $1.3 bln on new carrier rocket

09:56, 30 September 2009

SEOUL. September 30. KAZINFORM. South Korea will spend about $1.3 billion on the development of a new-generation space delivery vehicle, following a recent failure to deliver a domestic satellite into orbit, a S. Korean newspaper said; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

The Korea Times cited officials from Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), as saying it expects to complete the development of the three-stage Korea Space Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-II) by 2017.

The previous two-stage KSLV-1 rocket failed to deliver a 100-kilogram oceanic and atmospheric research satellite into its target orbit after the August 25 launch from the Naro Space Center, 485 kilometers (300 miles) south of the capital Seoul.

KSLV-2, on the contrary, will be built "almost entirely on new technology" developed by South Korea.

The new delivery vehicle is expected to be a 50-meter (164-foot) three-stage liquid-fuel rocket, capable of carrying a payload of up to one metric ton.

The construction of South Korea's first space center on the island of Naro was completed in June; Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.

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