SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea successfully launched its homegrown space rocket Nuri, live footage of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) showed early Thursday.
The 200-ton Nuri blast off from Naro Space Center in Goheung, about 470 km south of the capital Seoul, at 1:13 a.m. local time (1613 GMT Wednesday).
After reaching the target orbit 600 km above Earth, the rocket separated a main satellite as well as 12 cube satellites.
The main satellite was tasked with space science research, including the observation of auroras.
Bae Kyung-hoon, deputy prime minister and science minister, told a televised press briefing that the fourth launch of Nuri was successful, saying it was a crucial turning point for the transition of the country's space industry ecosystem to the private-centric from the previous government-centric.
Hanwha Aerospace took charge of the production and assembly of the launch vehicle and participated in the launch operations, supervised by KARI, marking the first time that the public and private sectors jointly prepared for it.
The first launch was carried out in October 2021, when the Nuri rocket failed to enter orbit. In June 2022, the rocket put a dummy satellite into orbit, and in May 2023, placed a small satellite and seven cube satellites into orbit. ■