Tags: Satellite Launch, South Korea, KARI
Publication: LiveScience.com
Publication Date: 10/23/2012

KSLV-1 rocket on the launch pad before its first launch in 2009. Image credit: KARI

South Korea will attempt to join the group of spacefaring nations of the world for the third time. On Friday, October 26, the country plans to launch its Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 rocket (KSLV-1) to orbit a small experimental satellite.

If the Science and Technology Satellite-2C (STSAT-2C), the spacecraft riding atop the KSLV-1, is placed in orbit successfully, it will serve as an experimental test for future South Korean space projects. The satellite is planned to be delivered to an elliptical, 103-minute orbit, at anywhere between 186 to 932 miles from Earth. STSAT-2C’s mission is intended to last one year.

The KSLV-1 rocket was developed by South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in partnership with Russia’s Khrunichev and had two previous failed launch attempts in 2009 and 2010.

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