Seoul-Sana
South Korea is preparing to launch its first indigenous space rocket, the Aerospace Research Institute announced today.
"The 200-ton KSLV2 rocket will be launched from the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal town of Goheng with the aim of putting a 1.5-ton fake satellite into orbit," the Yonhap news agency quoted the South Korean institute as saying.
South Korea has invested about $1.8 billion in building the three-stage rocket since 2010, and if it succeeds, it will be the first fully domestically designed and manufactured spacecraft.