The Korea Aerospace Administration (Administrator Oh Tae-seok) and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (Director Lee Sang-cheol, hereinafter KARI) announced that the fifth launch of the Korean launch vehicle “Nuri,” developed to secure independent space transportation capabilities, was successful.
Following the completion of the flight of the Nuri rocket, which was launched today, Wednesday, October 7, at 12:25 p.m., the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) conducted an initial analysis of the Nuri rocket’s telemetry data—which contains flight information—and confirmed that confirmed that the Nuri rocket reached its target altitude and successfully separated five microsatellite clusters and nine CubeSats, placing them into their target orbits.
Following launch, the Nuri rocket proceeded normally throughout the entire flight in accordance with the pre-set flight sequence; the engines of the first, second, and third stages all burned normally, and the fairing separated as planned. Subsequently, all procedures—including the separation of Micro-Cluster Satellites 2 through 6 and the CubeSat—were successful.
At approximately 1:08 p.m. that day, initial communication with Micro-Cluster Satellite No. 6 was successfully established at the King Sejong Station in Antarctica. Subsequently, starting at 2:00 p.m., communication with Micro-Cluster Satellites Nos. 2 through 5 is scheduled to begin using domestic ground stations(Daejeon, Jeju, and King Sejong Station in Antarctica), followed by overseas ground stations (Svalbard, Norway), to establish communication with Micro-Satellite Cluster No. 2 through No. 5.
Following the successful fourth launch of the Nuri rocket, today’s successful fifth launch has further enhanced the rocket’s launch reliability while reaffirming South Korea’s independent space transportation capabilities and autonomous space development capacity. In particular, this launch incorporated a low-impact separation mechanism for the satellite cluster and implemented separation procedures designed to prevent collisions between the satellites.
By successfully placing multiple satellites into their target orbits, the Nuri rocket has taken its mission capabilities to the next level. Furthermore, by expanding the participation of system integration companies in launch operations compared to the previous fourth launch—thereby enabling the private sector to continuously accumulate launch operation experience and capabilities—this launch is significant in that it has further solidified the foundation for a future transition to a privately led launch service system.
Oh Tae-seok, Administrator of the Korea Aerospace Administration, stated, “We are preparing for the sixth launch, scheduled for the second half of next year, and we plan to conduct at least one launch per year through 2032 to further enhance the reliability of the Nuri rocket and transition to a private-sector-led commercial launch service system.”
He continued, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the researchers at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), who spared no effort or passion to ensure the success of the fifth Nuri rocket launch; to representatives from the industry, including Hanwha Aerospace; and to the relevant agencies that cooperated to ensure the launch was carried out safely.”
