Naro-1

The rocket was produced by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI ) in collaboration with Korean Air and the Russian Space Center named after Khrunichev . According to South Korean media reports, KSLV-1 is 80% similar to the Angara launch vehicle, which is being created at the MV Khrunichev GKNPC ^[2] . The rocket will launch a 100 kg satellite into orbit.

The first liquid-fuel booster stage was developed and manufactured in Russia by the MV Khrunichev State Scientific and Production Center and NPO Energomash. The Design Bureau of Transport Engineering was responsible for developing the design of the ground complex. The second solid fuel stage and satellite were created by South Korean engineers based on their own technologies.

The launch site is the South Korean Naro Cosmodrome , located on the island of Venarodo in the province of Jeollanam -do in the south-west of the Korean Peninsula .

With the successful launch of the KSLV-1, South Korea is becoming the 11th largest space power in the world to launch a satellite with its own launch vehicle . Further, the Naro Space Center plans to begin creating the KSLV-2 rocket , which will consist entirely of components made by South Korean engineers. At the same time, it is planned to use the experience gained in cooperation with Russian specialists ^[3] .

08/25 . 2009 was the first launch , which ended in failure. On board the rocket was the first Korean communications satellite ^[4] . Initially, it was reported that the satellite entered orbit, though off-design (≈ 360 kilometers instead of 302). Later there were reports that the satellite did not enter orbit and burned out in the atmosphere. Failure in the separation of the head fairing is indicated as the cause of the failure: one of its wings remained with a step, which led to a significant shortage of speed (≈ 6200 m / s instead of the first space velocity ).

10.06 . 2010 the second launch took place, also unsuccessful. The rocket was able to rise in 137 seconds to a height of about 70 km, then the connection with the rocket was lost. The accident occurred at the stage of operation of the first stage of Russian production, 78 seconds before the head fairing was reset. The satellite STSAT-2B was lost. According to the records from the on-board video camera, it is assumed that the rocket exploded ^{[5] [6]} . In an official statement GKNPTS im. Khrunichev on this occasion indicated that a joint commission would be created to find out the causes of the accident, which would include Russian and South Korean specialists ^[7] . The accident videos were published ^[8] . In August 2011, TsNIIMASH Deputy General Director Nikolai Panichkin briefly described the results of the work of the special Russian commission that studied this accident. According to Panichkin, the commission unequivocally established that the Russian stage, as for the first time, was not to blame, and the accident was caused by the erroneous work of the second, Korean, stage. The commission act was transferred to Roskosmos ^[9] .

The third launch of the launch vehicle was scheduled for 11/29 . 2012 ^[10] , but was later postponed, according to Russian sources, due to 2nd-stage malfunctions detected during preparation for launch directly at the launch. Korean representatives report that an unusually large power consumption has been detected in the traction vector control system of this stage, they suspect a short circuit somewhere in its circuits ^[11] . The missile was removed from the launch and taken back to the technical position ^[12] . Until December 5, when the start window closed, they did not have time to repair the rocket and the launch had to be postponed until next year ^{[13] [14]} . This is not the first postponement or the first case when this missile is removed from the launch - on October 26 of the same year it was already removed, having detected a fuel leak of the first stage ^[15] . The transfer made it possible for the DPRK to get ahead of South Korea and become the 10th space power on December 12, 2012 ^[16] .

January 30, 2013 the successful launch of the launch vehicle Naro-1. The launch was broadcast live by local television channels, the rocket reached a predetermined height and launched the STSAT-2C research satellite into orbit ^[17] .

Initially, the launch was planned for the end of 2008 ^[18] , but subsequently was postponed six times ^[19] . The start, scheduled for July 30, 2009 , was postponed at the request of Russian experts who took an active part in the creation of the launch vehicle - it was decided that additional time was needed to test and improve all systems ^[3] .

On August 3, 2009, it was announced that South Korean specialists could choose any date between August 11 and 18 , but in the end the launch was scheduled for August 19, 2009. On August 19, preparations for the launch were carried out and the countdown had already started, but 7 minutes 56 seconds before the start, preparations for it were canceled, and a few minutes later the fuel and oxidizing agents began to drain from the tanks of the first stage of the rocket. A preliminary reason was announced a bit later - a technical malfunction in the start sequence diagram, even later a statement about technical malfunctions in one of the high-pressure tanks followed, and 3 hours after the delayed start, a message appeared about malfunctions in the pressure control valve mechanism.

The day before the scheduled rocket launch, on August 18, 2009, former President of South Korea Kim Dae-jung , who was a native of Jeollanam-do province , passed away in Seoul . Mourning events are scheduled for August 19 in the province, due to which the launch of Naro-1 seemed inappropriate, however, no official statements from the Korean Space Center or government representatives regarding a possible postponement of the launch date were made.

The day after the delayed launch, on August 20, YTN reported that the reason for the cancellation of the launch was a malfunction of the rocket software, and that the next launch could take place before August 26, 2009.

The DPRK authorities said that they will closely monitor how the UN Security Council will react to the launch of the South Korean missile by the other countries participating in the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue (Russian Federation, USA , China and Japan ), in view of the fact that Pyongyang’s launch of its own rockets in April 2009 were harshly condemned by the UN Security Council ^{[2] [20]} .