South Korea Successfully Deploys Satellite into Orbit with Their Domestically Produced Rocket

Congratulations to South Korea for the successful launch of their Nuri rocket:

Flight trajectory of Nuri

South Korea on Thursday successfully launched its homegrown space rocket Nuri to put eight practical satellites into orbit, achieving another milestone for the country’s space program.

The 200-ton Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, blasted off from Naro Space Center in the country’s southern coastal village of Goheung at 6:24 p.m., and successfully completed its flight sequence, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

“Following the success of the second launch of Nuri last year and the third launch today, we have confirmed the flight performance of Nuri, not only confirming the reliability of Nuri, but also confirming our potential for launch services for various satellite operations and space exploration,” Science Minister Lee Jong-ho said in a briefing.

He also said that the main satellite, NEXTSAT-2, has made its first communication with Korea’s King Sejong Station in Antarctica.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this successful launch will put further pressure on North Korea’s scientists to try and match this performance with their upcoming space launch.