Korea called off the launch of its space rocket just hours before the scheduled liftoff Wednesday, due to a problem related to the launch pad's fire prevention system.
This represented the latest setback for the Korea Space Launch Vehicle I (KSLV-I), which achieved the desired speed and height in a previous flight in August last year, but failed to deliver its payload satellite into orbit. Korea's "launch window" for the KSLV-I, notified to the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization, extends until June 19.
Officials from KARI and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology were unable to comment on the setting of a new launch date.
Korean and Russian engineers at the Naro Space Center here aborted the countdown at around 2 p.m. after the three nozzles of the pad's fire extinguishing system, which deploy chemical retardants to put out fires from fuel and other flammable liquid spills, malfunctioned and started spraying out their contents.
Rounding out the English-language coverage on the peninsula is the Korea Herald, JoongAng Daily, and KBS World, the latter reporting
The Naro rocket management committee says the launch would be rescheduled for as early as Thursday if the fire extinguishing agents spilled onto the launch pad are found to be harmless.
The committee earlier said the launch would occur prior to June 20th in consideration of the possibility of delay.
They're keeping an eye on the weather, though.
From the Seoul Shinmun.
The left-leaning Hankyoreh posted a blurb about the delay as well, and managed to do so without holding President Lee Myung-bak accountable or implying the United States shot it down.
South Korea's attempt at putting a satellite into orbit with a domestic rocket last summer was delayed seven times last summer before ultimately failing, leading some experts to wonder why the space program runs about as smoothly as a middle school English department.
8 comments:
yeah, i distrust the wetaher reporting here, and most other places. We've nothing but sun and clear skies in Ulsan yet the weather reports have been saying it has been raining since Monday.
We don't even have any wind today, which is pretty strange for Ulsan.
My coworkers were trying to explain to me why Korea needs to launch it's own rockets (natioanl pride: we have the technology, why should we beg other countries to launch it for us?).
I declined to mention the Russian engineers working on the launch. They also asked if Australia launches rockets. We do, we just don't build them.
THe Ministry also has plans to send a probe to the moon. Imagine if that money was spent on something else?
+ 1 joji1909
Now the Korea Times says the rocket will be launched today, with the new launch time to be announced momentarily:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2010/06/129_67393.html
With the amount of yellow dust around I doubt it'll happen today (but then again it might be clear on the south coast). I'm pretty sure they usually opt for clear days as to maximise the propaganda ability.
!Boom!
It's okay, great han people. Happens to the Americans and French a lot too.
I have to say, I laughed out loud when I saw the headline on BBC about it blowing up. All that speculation and hope... fireballed.
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr112/mindmetoo/korea/koreamoon2.jpg
I guess until they can get a rocket in space, they can keep setting up little dioramas in their science museum with American hardware on the moon but a Korean flag where the American flag should be...you know why lead school kids to believe the great evil USA did something the sons of Tangun haven't.
One should not forget that the French Ariane space program had some poor maiden flights of its new rockets:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_2
And Boeings Delta IV rocket's first flight was a partial failure. It reached orbit but a lower orbit than desired.
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