South Korea Launches Rocket; Satellite Fails to Reach Its Orbit

By Nancy Atkinson - August 25, 2009 at 8:18 AM UTC | Space Exploration

South Korea successfully launched its first rocket on Tuesday, but the satellite payload failed to reach its designated orbit, officials said. The rocket, a two-stage rocket, called the Naro lifted off on schedule at 5:00 pm local time, (0800 GMT). The first stage separated successfully less than five minutes after lift-off and the South Korean-built 100-kilogram (220-pound) scientific research satellite was placed into Earth orbit. But science and technology minister Ahn Byong-Man said it was not following the designated orbit, hampering communications with mission control. "All aspects of the launch were normal, but the satellite exceeded its planned orbit and reached an altitude of 360 kilometres (225 miles)," Ahn said.

A spokesperson from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute told Yonhap news agency they were trying to track the whereabouts of the satellite and declined to say if contact could be made later. Engineers from South Korea and Russia, who helped construct the rocket, are looking to find the exact cause of the failure. The science satellite was supposed to observe the atmosphere and ocean.

They said that despite the satellite's failure to reach its proper orbit, the launch should be seen as a "half success" since the rocket functioned without any problem.

The launch, was watched closely by rival North Korea. Watch the video above for more on this launch, and the tensions between North and South Korea.

Source:

Space Daily

,

AlJazeera

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com