MOSCOW (Khrunichev PR) –

The third launch of KSLV-1 launch pad with the National Space Centre “Naro” is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year.

Cooperation of South Korea and Russia in the field of missile technology has been going on for eight years. In 2004 a contract was signed for the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) for the development and creation of space rocket with a booster light class KSLV.

Editor’s Note: Both parties are hoping that the third time will be a charm. The first launch failed after the payload shroud didn’t jettison. The second launch vehicle exploded, for reasons that the Russians and Koreans could not agree upon. There is a dispute over whether the Russian first stage or the Korean second stage was at fault.

The Russian stage is powered by a scaled-down version of the engine that will be used in the new Angara rocket, which is set to make its debut in the second quarter of 2013.

KARI President Seung-Jo Kim

JAXA has posted a Q&A with Seung-Jo Kim, President of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Most of the interview relates to growing cooperation between KARI and JAXA, but there is a good overview of South Korea’s plans in rocketry, ISS experiments and lunar exploration for the next decade. Key excerpts from the conversation follow.

On Rocket Development

“Korea’s space policy is part of the Basic Space Development Promotion Plan, which was based on the Basic Space Development Promotion Act, enacted in 2005. In particular, we emphasize the development of a purely domestic satellite launch rocket called KSLV-2. Our major goal is to launch a domestic satellite on a domestic rocket, making use of the technology and experience gained through the development of the Naro rocket.

“KSLV-2 is a three-stage liquid-fuel rocket about 50 meters long and 3.3 meters in diameter. It will launch a 1.5-tonne satellite into low Earth orbit. The current Naro rocket can only carry a satellite weighing about 100 kilograms to low Earth orbit, so KSLV-2 will have to have a much greater launch capability. To make this possible, we need a 75-tonne-class engine, so its development will be key. We began work on the KSLV-2 in 2011, aiming to launch in 2021. We’ve started preparing the ground test facility for a 75-tonne-class engine, and plan to start expansion of the launch site at the Naro Space Center.”

On ISS Experiments

“We would like to participate anytime we have the chance, as a partner in many different types of space experiments on the ISS. We are currently considering joint space experiments with Japan, using the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo. We are aiming to launch our experiment equipment in 2015, via the H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI”, Japan’s a cargo transporter to the ISS, and we plan to conduct joint research in the Kibo laboratory. “

On Future Astronaut Flights

“In 2008, Korea took its first step towards manned space activity. Dr. So-Yeon Yi became the first Korean to fly in space, on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and stayed at the International Space Station (ISS) for 10 days, conducting many scientific experiments. At the moment, KARI does not have an astronaut training program, but I hear that the Korea Air Force, for example, is interested in training astronauts.”

On Lunar Exploration

“One of KARI’s objectives is to launch a probe into lunar orbit around 2023. However, first we need to launch a KSLV-2 rocket successfully, and then enhance it so that we can launch a probe into lunar orbit. So making a purely domestic rocket is our first priority for now.”

The Korea Times has a story about the stalemate between KARI and Russia’s Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center over a possible third launch of the KSLV-1 (Naro-1) rocket, which has failed in its only two launch attempts.

The dispute centers on what failed during the second launch attempt on June 10: Khrunichev’s first stage booster or the South Korean-built second stage. KARI believes that the first stage failed, so Khrunichev should provide a third launch vehicle at its own cost for a flight next year. But the Russian firm disagrees.

In its first launch in August last year, the rocket achieved its desired speed and height, but failed to deliver its payload satellite into orbit.

The Russians are under contract to provide at least two launches, and a possible third should their technology related to the KSLV-I first-stage be found responsible for the failure of any of the first two attempts. KARI took the blame for the bungled first launch, and tension has been evident in the FRB meetings over the failure of the second launch, as the Koreans attempt to rope in their Russian counterparts for a third try sometime next year.

Observers believe there is a possibility that the Khrunichev Center, which clearly holds the leverages in the talks, may only commit to a third launch should Korea agrees to pay for it.

Buying a new rocket from the Russians will cost about 200 billion won, according to ministry officials, and some experts wonder whether the money will be better spent if the country just skips on the third launch and goes directly for the KSLV-II, which is aimed to be an indigenous rocket. The KSLV-II, which will be capable of carrying a bigger satellite than its predecessor, is slated for its maiden flight around 2020.

A Korean official said an agreement had been reached between the two parties over a third launch, but he would not disclose details citing confidentiality requirements.

Complicating the discussions is the fact that Khrunichev has “clearly approached the Korean rocket project as an experiment on course of developing their next-generation Angara rockets.” The Russians may want to just move on to building and testing Angara, which shares many of the same structural elements with the KSLV-1 first stage. Angara’s second stage is being paid for by the French, which has funded upgrades to the Soyuz variant that will soon begin flying out of Kourou.

Meanwhile, the inaugural launch of the first Angara keeps slipping. Originally planned for next year, it has now been delayed until 2013 due to financial issues.

“Vladimir Nesterov, head of the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, said the rocket assembly would be completed in the first quarter of 2011, adding that the first-stage engine was “99% ready” and the second-stage engine had already been tested three times.

He said the only problem that could affect the schedule of tests was delays in the purchase of ground-based equipment that the center was unable to order due to underfunding….

The main purpose of the Angara rocket family is to give Russia independent access to space. The rockets will reduce Russia’s dependence on the Baikonur space center it leases from Kazakhstan by allowing the launch of heavy payloads from more northerly sites such as Plesetsk and a new space center in Russia’s Far East.

Angara is being designed as a family of rockets with a common core that would be capable of lifting 1 to 75 metric tons to orbit. It would replace several existing boosters, some of which are not made in Russia.

A South Korean rocket carrying a scientific satellite is believed to have exploded on Thursday a little more than two minutes after takeoff, the country’s science minister said.

Minister of Education, Science and Technology Ahn Byong-man told reporters that the Naro-1 space rocket appears to have blown up 137 seconds after it lifted off from a space center on the country’s south coast.

“An inboard camera detected a bright flash of light at 137 seconds into the flight, which coincides exactly with the loss of communication with the two-stage rocket,” he said.

The camera located in the second-stage rocket was looking down toward the Earth when it picked up the image.

The first stage of the rocket, built by a Russian company, is also being used as the core of Russia’s new Angara booster. So, it is setback for that nation as well. Angara is set to make its first flight from Russia in two years.

Korea’s Space Rocket ‘Naro’ Gets Transported to Launch Pad
Arirang

With just two days left until the second launch attempt of Korea’s satellite-carrying rocket, the KSLV-1, scientists at the Naro Space Center successfully raised the rocket on the launch pad in preparation for its lift-off on Wednesday.

According to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the rocket, also known as ‘Naro,’ left the assembly complex at 8:15 a.m. this morning and arrived at the launch pad roughly one hour and 20 minutes later. Before the rocket was placed vertically on the launch pad various fuel lines and system control cables were first connected to Naro, then at around 3:30 this afternoon engineers began the process of lifting the rocket using the erector arm….

The 33-meter tall, 140-ton rocket is a mid-sized launch vehicle consisting of two sections, the Russian-made stage operating on liquid fuel and the Korean-made stage using solid fuel that will carry a satellite weighing 100 kilograms into orbit.

The country has so far spent 502.5 billion won, roughly 418 million US dollars, on the project in hopes of becoming only the tenth country capable of successfully launching a satellite from its own soil.

Read the full story.

International Space Station

Space News has some interesting ISS news from Europe:

The head of the 18-nation European Space Agency (ESA) on Feb. 2 roundly endorsed the new direction U.S. President Barack Obama proposed for NASA, saying a firmer U.S. commitment to the international space station and space-based Earth science would further tighten trans-Atlantic cooperation.

In an interview, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain also said his agency was ready to propose to NASA and the other space station partners — Russia, Japan and Canada — that China, India and South Korea be invited to join the station partnership.

“These three nations have been active in the multilateral discussion of future space exploration architecture,” Dordain said. “It seems that these three would be a good place to start widening the partnership. But this needs to be a collective decision by all the current partners.”

Dordain and other European government officials have long urged that the space station’s service life be extended at least to 2020, with a final retirement date decided only when it becomes clear that the orbital outpost is no longer worth the annual investment in operations and maintenance.

Read the full story.

The KARI-ISRO pact outlines future cooperation in space communication, ways to enhance capabilities of remote control probes and promote growth of space-related sciences.

India is one of the top three space technology leaders in Asia. It has sent an unmanned probe to the moon after such countries as China and Japan.

Other fields where cooperative tie-ups can take place are in space navigation and application of long-distance control for probes.

The ministry, however, said that because India is not a member of the international Missile Technology Control Regime, there will be no cooperation in the development of rockets and satellites.

Read the full story.

Angara rocket engine test. The first stage of Angara was funded through a joint venture with South Korea.

The Roskosmos website has the transcript of an interview that deputy director Sergei Saveliev gave to RK magazine. The session covered a range of topics, including Russia’s increasingly profitable international cooperation and the possibility of Russian involvement in the next generation of Indian rockets. Some highlights:

“Today, in the field of space activity 75 intergovernmental agreements were concluded by Russia, including a set of 26 Russian-Kazakhstan agreements on cosmodrome ‘Baikonur’, and also 42 interdepartmental agreements. Preparation of 20 intergovernmental agreements with 18 countries is in the process. The number of joint projects increased. All this is due to the fact of improvement of industry financing. Russian government assured prompt support for leading enterprises of space-rocket industry in crisis, and it inspired them with confidence in the future.”

Q: Do the experts consider Indian and South Korean markets perspective?

“We have signed major international contracts with these countries. The oxygen-hydrogen upper-stage rockets are delivered in India. There are consultations on possible participation of Russia in works on creation of the Indian launches of new generation.

“And also, joint development and construction of launch facility for light class rocket-carrier KSLV-1 with the Republic of Korea are in process. The first liquid-propellant stage is developed by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, the second propellant stage — by the Korean side. In 2008, in Republic Korea building of Naro Space Center was finished. Russia was involved in this work.”

Is it profitable?

“I will mention just one figure: the financial benefit from international projects in 2008 in comparison with 2007 increased by 32 percent.”

Read the full interview.

South Korea is looking to make major progress in aerospace next year. In addition to the second launch of its KSLV-1 rocket and several satellites, the nation is looking to forge partnerships with NASA, ESA and other major space agencies. South Korea is also increasing its national R&D budget in an effort to make aerospace into a lucrative export engine.

Korea Aerospace Research Institute President Lee Joo-jin told the Yonhap News:

The KARI chief said that detailed talks have started with the United States and European countries on joint research in various aspects of space exploration.

“These cover experiments to be conducted on the International Space Station, micro-gravity, and cooperation in the use of satellites,” he said.

He said that in the new year, KARI will work out details of cooperative pacts with 10 foreign space agencies and research centers.

The moves come as South Korea is increasing its research and development budget in order to become more competitive:

The government has set the goal of devoting 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to science research by 2012, aiming to put the country in a better position to excel in research and development (R&D).

In a policy report to President Lee Myung-bak, Tuesday, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology also vowed stronger innovative support in aerospace and nuclear power technology, two areas Korea hopes to convert into lucrative export engines.

Government spending on R&D will reach 13.6 trillion won (about $11.4 billion) in 2010, from 12.3 trillion won this year, with more than 40 percent of the budget saved for fundamental science and basic research, ministry officials said.

About 130 billion won will be invested to help research into nano materials and other nano-technology areas, while about 190 billion won will be used to support projects for drug development and stem-cell research.

Korea has the potential to become an important partner in efforts aimed at advancing exploration and technology for the peaceful use of space, the head of the U.S. aerospace administration said yesterday.

National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) chief Charles Bolden, Jr. said at the International Astronautical Congress in Daejeon, located 164 kilometers (102 miles) south of Seoul, that the country has made noticeable strides with its robust space program by building satellites and launching a rocket into orbit.

He said that future cooperative tie-ups could take place in such areas as lunar exploration, satellites and the field of aeronautics.

The remarks come after President Lee Myung-bak said on Monday that Seoul is seeking to forge cooperative relations with top space exploration leaders like the United States and is considering a move to take part in a U.S.-led lunar exploration project.

Read the full story.

The Yonhap News Agency reports that South Korea has set an ambitious goal for catching up with the world’s leading space powers:

South Korea aims to bridge the gap in rocket and satellite technology with leading countries in the field of space exploration over the next decade by ramping up research and development and expanding cooperation with foreign agencies, the head of a state aerospace institute said Friday.

Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) President Lee Joo-jin said that while the country currently relies on foreign assistance to send a satellite-bearing rocket into orbit, continued research and development efforts and cooperative tie-ups with foreign space agencies should allow it to become more independent.

“In the medium and low altitude satellite fields, the country has reached 80 percent capability vis-a-vis leading countries like the United States and Russia, while the gap stands at roughly 40 percent for geosynchronous (an orbital period that matches the rotation rate of the Earth) and communication satellites,” Lee said in a interview with Yonhap News Agency….

The difference in rocket-related capabilities is greater since the country does not have the technology needed to make a powerful liquid fuel rocket.

Read the full story.

‘KSLV-II launch in 2019 will be difficult’
The Korean Herald

For Korea to launch a fully indigenous space rocket in 2019 as planned may be difficult because the country has yet to sufficiently secure core technology, a lawmaker said yesterday.

During the ongoing parliamentary inspection of the administration, Rep. Lim Hae-kyu of the ruling Grand National Party disclosed a report on the preliminary feasibility study regarding the rocket development project, which will begin next year with a budget of 1.5449 trillion won ($1.3 billion).

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance recently commissioned the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning to conduct the study. The government plans to launch a 1.5-metric ton multi-purpose commercial satellite on an entirely domestically-built rocket, named the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II, in 2019.

Lim said the study results show that Korea needs “collaboration” from a foreign country in developing the space rocket as it has yet to secure some 21.3 percent of the technology, which is mostly related to the development of the engine and the propellant system.

Read the full story.

Korea, Japan to Team Up for Space Technology
The Korea Times

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the country’s space agency, said it is talking with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) over possible collaboration on several experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The experiments will be conducted on Japan’s Kibo ISS module ― which will be completed during the first half of this year ― sometime around 2012, a year after the ISS is expected to be totally outfitted.

Under the discussed plans, KARI will develop the mission unique equipment (MUE) to be used in the Kibo laboratory, while Japanese engineers will take care of the delivery and operation of the machines, KARI officials said.