S. Korea conducts final exercises for homegrown space rocket launch

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has started final safety exercises for its homegrown space rocket, the science ministry said Thursday, as the country gears up for its scheduled launch next month.

The 200-ton Nuri is set to lift off on Oct. 21 by carrying a 1.5-ton mock payload at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, 473 kilometers south of Seoul.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said 11 government branches and agencies, including the military and the police, began final safety exercises, such as restricting the airspace and waters nearby the launch site, under identical conditions of the launch next month.

In a bid to acquire its own rocket technology, South Korea has invested around 2 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) in the three-stage Nuri since 2010 and finally unveiled a test model of the rocket in June this year.

South Korea successfully launched its first-ever Naro space rocket in 2013, though its first stage was built in Russia.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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