OREANDA-NEWS South Korea has successfully launched its own Nuri space rocket (KSLV-II), South Korean media reported on Tuesday, June 21.

According to the Ministry of Science of the Republic of Korea, the rocket was launched at 16:00 local time from the Naro spaceport in the south of the country. The launch of Nuri, originally scheduled for June 16, was delayed after the discovery of a faulty part in one of the sensors.

The development of the KSLV launch vehicle has been carried out since 2010 by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). The 200-ton three-stage carrier rocket KSLV-II (Korean Space Launch Vehicle II) has a height of 47.2 m and a diameter of 3.5 m.

South Korea has invested about $1.8 billion to build this three-stage rocket.

In 2013, Seoul successfully launched its first KSLV-1 space rocket, the first stage of which was manufactured in Russia. Its first two launches (in 2009 and 2010) ended in failure due to problems with Korean-made equipment.

The KSLV-II launch vehicle is intended for commercial services for putting satellites into orbit. The cost of such a launch is estimated at $30 million, which is less than that of competitors in Asia.

South Korea plans to conduct four Nuri rocket launches by 2027.