http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2012/11/325_125840.html
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The
Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, known colloquially as Naro, is removed
from the pad after a glitch in the second stage led to its launch being
aborted just 16 minutes and 52 seconds before liftoff. / Yonhap |
By Cho Mu-hyunGOHEUNG,
South Jeolla Province _ The nation’s third attempt to launch the Korea
Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) was again aborted Thursday, due to
problems in the second-stage of the rocket, colloquially known as Naro.
The
Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said that it will determine
the next launch date after a thorough inspection of the KSLV-1, but it
is unlikely that the liftoff will take place this year as the current
launch deadline is scheduled to end on Dec. 5. Engineers say it will
take at least four to five days to figure out what went wrong and fix
it.
The countdown was abruptly stopped 16 minutes and 52 seconds
before the launch time of 4 p.m. The Ministry of Education, Science and
Technology immediately announced that there was a signal error from a
thrust controller in the upper part of the rocket. The launch was
officially aborted at 4:08 p.m.
“It is regrettable that we must
set another launch date in front of people who have cheered us on so
far,” said Minister Lee Ju-ho, in an emergency briefing after the launch
was canceled. “During the countdown we found an electronic signal
problem with the thrust vector controller in the second stage and
decided a launch will be impossible today.”
“We are investigating
the cause and we will announce a revised schedule later. We will
prepare and inspect the rocket more thoroughly so that the third launch
will be a success,” he said.
Lee said the launch will be focused on success, hinting at a possible delay until spring next year.
Also
at the briefing, KARI President Kim Seung-jo said every attempt was
made to fix the controller to continue the launch but to no avail. It
continued to consume more electricity than needed, forcing the
cancelation.
Kim said the rocket will be moved to its assembly
complex for a “thorough inspection.” The thrust controller located in
the second stage controls the vector of the nose. It is used for quick
turns to control direction.
This is the second postponement in
two months. The government is being so careful with the third launch
because it would be the last chance for a successful liftoff of the
KSLV-1. Russia agreed to provide the first stage of the rocket for a
maximum of three launches.
Under the current window date, KARI is
allowed to make another launch attempt until Dec. 5. Kim, though unable
to provide a specific date, said that is was highly unlikely that they
could make another attempt within the current window.
Cho
Gwang-rae, who heads the Naro project at KARI, said the problematic part
was locally made and there were many spare parts. He said the
electronics device that requires inspection can only be fixed after
disassembling the rocket, which will require at least two days from
Thursday.
Cho added that no problems were detected during two checkups conducted on the launch date and the previous day’s rehearsals.
He
denied some allegations that perhaps the part, which was built five
years ago, was reaching its expiration date. The institute said it had
two spares for the problematic electronics part of the controller, which
was made in France.
Russian officials told local media that from
the current data, it seemed parts must be replaced with the rocket
moving to the assembly complex. All fuel has been removed from the
rocket as of 6:15 p.m. and it will be moved into the complex by today.
The
disappointing outcome follows two previous failures. In the first
attempt in 2009, the rocket reached the desired orbit but failed to
release its satellite due to a fairing malfunction. The second attempt
saw the rocket explode minutes after its launch in 2010.
KARI
estimates that its current space technology has advanced to 83.4 percent
to that of developed countries from 46.3 percent before the KSLV-1
project began.
Korea plans to continue expanding its decade-long
space program to legitimately join the so-called “space club” of the
United States, France, Russia, Japan, China, the U.K., India, Israel and
Iran.
The project to launch the first locally assembled rocket
was initiated in 2002 in collaboration with Russia. The two have signed
cooperative and technology safeguard agreements over the years.
For
the two-staged rocket, Korea built the second stage that contains a
locally assembled satellite as its payload and uses a solid-fuel kick
motor as its engine. The larger first stage was built by Russia and is
powered by liquid oxygen and highly-refine kerosene.
Naro weighs
140 tons and is 33 meters long when fully assembled. It is carrying a
100-kilogram satellite _ the Science and Technology Satellite-2C.
The
total spending on the KSLV-1 including assembly and launches will be
over 520 billion won. The Naro Space Center, initially planned to be
built on Jeju Island, is located in Goheung, South Jeolla Province and
cost 300 billion won.
Seoul launched three test rockets, called
Korea Sounding Rockets, prior to Naro in 1993, 1998 and 2002 before
starting serious discussion to build ones powerful enough to reach
orbit.
It will now initiate plans to build and launch the KSLV-2 with a budget of 1.54 trillion won.
This
rocket will be much larger and powerful, weighing 200 tons and being
47.5 meters long when assembled. It will be a three-stage launch vehicle
and have a larger payload _ a 1.5 ton satellite. The first and second
stages will use liquid fuel-powered 75-ton thrust engines that will be
completed by 2018.
A vehicle using the locally made engines will
be tested by 2018 before the KSLV-2. KARI said that they have acquired
key technology to make a 30-ton thrust engine through cooperation with
Russia, which will be the foundation to build the larger rocket.
KARI said over 80 percent of the three-stage KSLV-2 will be made here.
Korea
plans to build its own 300-ton thrust engine by 2022 to be used in yet
to be specified future projects. Tentatively, the country plans to send
an orbital probe to the moon by 2023, and one that will land on the
lunar surface by 2025.
Goheung County has been bench marking
France and Japan to build a space cluster in the vicinity of the space
center. Around 1 trillion won will be spent by 2016 to build additional
test facilities and housing.
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