Chronology of major events leading to S. Korea's Nuri space rocket launch

SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- The following is a chronology of major events leading to the development of South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri, or Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II (KSLV-II), which was launched from the Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung.

June 4, 1993 -- South Korea launches the indigenous one-stage solid propelled science observation rocket, called the Korea Space Rocket (KSR)-I, after three years of development.

July 9, 1997 -- South Korea launches the homegrown KSR-II two-stage solid propelled science observation rocket. It adopted such advanced technologies as guided control and stage separation compared to the previous version.

Nov. 18, 2002 -- South Korea launches the liquid-propellant science rocket of the KSR-III. It marked the first time that the country successfully built an independent liquid-fueled rocket, which laid the foundation for the development of small satellite launch vehicles.

March 26, 2001 - South Korea joins the Missile Technology Control Regime, an informal international association that oversees the proliferation of unmanned delivery systems capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction.

August 2002 - South Korea and Russia confirm plans to develop the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-I (KSLV-I) rocket, with a launch planned for 2005.

2005 - South Korea and Russia complete work on critical designs for the KSLV-I. The original launch date was postponed until October 2007.

June 11, 2009 - South Korea opens the Naro Space Center. Launch pad certification is completed using KSLV-I GTV. A complete first-stage rocket arrives from Russia by plane.

Aug. 11, 2009 - After rounds of postponement, South Korea sets a new launch date on Aug. 19, 2009, following consultation with Russia.

Aug. 19, 2009 - South Korea halts the countdown of the KSLV-I with less than eight minutes to go before blastoff after the automatic launch sequence system detects a problem in a high-pressure tank.

Aug. 25, 2009 - The KSLV-I is launched and successfully enters the orbit. But it failed to deploy a scientific satellite into the orbit. An independent panel later confirmed a fairing assembly malfunction caused the failure.

March 2010 -- South Korea kicks off the project to develop the KSLV-II space rocket.

June 10, 2010 - South Korea launches the KSLV-I for the second time, but it exploded 137.19 seconds after liftoff.

Jan. 30, 2013 - After rounds of rescheduling, South Korea successfully launches the KSLV-I from South Korea's Naro Space Center.

March 2014 -- South Korea successfully conducts the first combustion test of the 7-ton-class liquid engine combustor for the KSLV-II.

June 8, 2016 -- South Korea successfully conducts the 75-ton liquid-fueled engine, which burned for 75 seconds.

March 2018 -- South Korea begins the comprehensive combustion test of the KSLV-II rocket.

Sept. 3, 2018 -- South Korea announces the name of the KSLV-II rocket is "Nuri," which means the world in Korean.

Nov. 28, 2018 - South Korea successfully test-launches the KSLV-Test Launch Vehicle to verify the performance of the liquid engine to be used for the KSLV-II.

Aug. 12, 2021 -- South Korea's space council approves the plan to launch the Nuri space rocket in October, 2021.

Sept. 29, 2021 -- South Korea confirms the date of the Nuri rocket's first launch on Oct. 21, and begins final safety exercises.

Oct. 21, 2021 -- The KSLV-II Nuri rocket lifts off.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
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