The first launch vehicle of its own production was launched in South Korea. The Nuri rocket launched on Thursday, October 21, at 17:00 (10:00 Moscow time) from the Naro cosmodrome in Jeollanam-do province. This was reported by BBC News with reference to the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technologies of the Republic of Korea.
The Nuri rocket reached low-earth orbit with a mock payload weighing 1.5 tons. The ministry noted that all systems of the launch vehicle were operating normally. President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in said that the rocket completed all stages of the flight, but it was not possible to launch the satellite mock into orbit.
Work on the rocket began in 2010, with funding for the program amounting to KRW 2 trillion ($ 1.79 billion). The mass of Nuri was 200 tons with a length of 47.2 meters. The rocket received six engines.
With the help of a rocket, it was planned to launch a satellite mock-up into low-earth orbit. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute intends to conduct four Nuri launches by 2027.
In September, the South Korean agency Yonghap announced the testing of a long-range cruise missile in North Korea. Before the launch, the military tested the main ammunition assemblies. The new missile successfully hit the target at a distance of 1,500 kilometers.
In April, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) showed a prototype of the KF-21 Boramae fighter jet. The plane will take off in 2022, The Drive reported.
