Third launch of Nuri rocket slated for May 24

Korea’s domestically developed “Nuri” rocket will take off in two and a half weeks for its third launch, this time with an actual “commercial-grade satellite” onboard.

The launch is scheduled for May 24 with the window open until May 31, at Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla.

In its previous test launch last June, the Nuri rocket carried a performance verification satellite with four cube satellites (CubeSats) placed inside and a dummy payload.

“The upcoming third launch is aimed at putting a domestically developed satellite with observation missions into the target orbit,” said Ko Jeong-hwan, director of the Nuri rocket project at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), during an online press briefing Thursday.

“The biggest difference this time is that, unlike the first and second launches where the Nuri rocket carried payloads mainly designed for verifying the performance of the launch vehicle, the rocket will be carrying eight satellites, including the Next-Generation Small Satellite,” said Goh.

A total of eight working satellites will be loaded onto the rocket for the upcoming launch, including Next Generation Small Satellite 2, or NEXTSat 2, described by the Ministry of Science and ICT as the first “commercial-grade satellite” aboard the Nuri rocket.

The 179.9-kilogram NEXTSat 2, developed by a satellite research center at KAIST, will be equipped with a small-sized synthetic aperture radar that can capture high-resolution images regardless of weather conditions.

The rocket will also carry seven CubeSats. The eight satellites, including NEXTSat 2, will be deployed one by one through the flight, which is estimated to last for 923 seconds.

The targeted altitude of the rocket flight is also different from previous test launches, where the aim was to bring the payloads to an orbit 700 kilometers above ground.

During the third launch, the Nuri rocket will carry its payloads into a solar synchronous orbit circling the earth at an altitude of 550 kilometers.

Another major difference from the previous launch is that a private company will participate in the launch operation for a public-private technology transfer.

In December last year, Hanwha Aerospace signed a 286-billion-won (about $217 million) contract with KARI to run the Korea Space Launch Vehicle Advancement Program.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle Advancement Program aims to improve the Nuri rocket through repeated launches with an estimated budget of 687.4 billion won.

With the signing of the deal, state-run KARI, which has been spearheading the space launch program so far, will transfer technologies to Hanwha Aerospace through all stages of a rocket launch, from design to launch operations, starting with the upcoming third launch.

Hanwha Aerospace will oversee the integration of the launch vehicle and manage suppliers for rocket parts through the upcoming four launches of the Nuri rocket through 2027.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]