South Korea’s test of its anticipated space launch vehicle was a success:
South Korea successfully tested its locally developed rocket engine on Wednesday, officials said, taking a step closer to the full-fledged development of the country’s first space launch vehicle.
The test of the 75-ton thrust engine was conducted using a single-stage rocket that was launched from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at 4:00 p.m.
The rocket engine, designed and developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), will be used on the three-stage Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2) currently under development.
The 75-ton thrust engine is considered a core technology behind the KSLV-2, which would make South Korea the seventh country in the world to build a space launch vehicle with homegrown technology.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and KARI said the critical rocket motor combustion time was maintained for 151 seconds, surpassing an initial goal of 140 seconds.
KARI said evaluating the performance of a liquid propellant rocket engine is determined by the length of the total combustion time.
The rocket flew for about 10 minutes after reaching a maximum suborbital altitude of 209 kilometers and hit the ocean 429 kilometers southeast of the country’s southern resort island of Jeju. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but what I am wondering is if the North Koreans will begin making demands to allow them to advance a so called peaceful space program like the South Koreans? Much of the technology used for space launches can be used to perfect ICBM’s as well.
The biggest question would be is if the North Koreans make this demand would the Moon administration support them?
S. Korea to test launch space rocket engineA rocket is loaded to an upright position on the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung on South Korea’s south coast on Nov. 27, 2018, one day before South Korea conducts the first test flight of its locally developed booster engine as part of a long-term effort to produce the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2. (Yonhap)
An employee watches an electronic board to monitor the expected fall to Earth of China’s out-of-control space lab Tiangong 1 at Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in the central city of Daejeon on March 30, 2018. The Science and ICT Ministry expects that Tiangong 1 will fall to Earth between 6:03 p.m. on April 1 and 2:03 p.m. on April 2, putting the alarm system against outer space risks at “alert.” The ministry will raise the alarm level to “serious” if the Chinese satellite is confirmed to pose a real threat to the country. (Yonhap)
38 North is pleased to work with @ISNJH on creating a panorama of the interior of the #DPRK's National Aerospace Development Administration's Control Room https://t.co/h5pJjl65nr
I wonder if the ROK government will replace South Korean astronauts with undeserving North Korean astronauts if the Kim regime demands it like they did for the Winter Olympics?:
South Korea unveiled a long-term plan Monday to secure indigenous space technology with the aim of successfully landing a spaceship on the moon by 2030, the science ministry said.
Under the roadmap crafted and finalized by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the government will secure the necessary basic technology to send a spacecraft into lunar orbit by 2020 and to land it on the surface of Earth’s satellite a decade later.
In order to meet the goal, the ministry will begin analyzing critical related technology starting in 2019, officials said.
It marks the first time that the Moon Jae-in administration, which took office in May 2017, has mapped out a long-term strategy for space exploration. In the past, the country has mostly been busy with narrowing a technology gap with powerhouses such as the United States and Russia, the ministry said.
Under the latest plan, South Korea will also begin an era of private companies launching orbital space programs in 2026. [Yonhap]
An illustration of the KPLO’s planned trajectory (provided by Korea Aerospace Research Institute)
A South Korean orbiter to be launched toward the moon in 2020 will be carried on a rocket by the private US aerospace manufacturer SpaceX. “The US company SpaceX has been selected to carry out the scheduled launch of the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) in 2020, and a launch contract was signed on Dec. 15,” the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced on Dec. 18.
SpaceX and India’s Antrix took part in the overseas bidding to carry out the launch, with KARI selecting SpaceX as a priority negotiation candidate. The final launch contract is determined through negotiations. SpaceX entered the bidding with its Falcon 9 rocket, a launch vehicle weighing 549 tons and measuring 70 meters in length and 3.7 meters in external diameter with a two-stage liquid-propelled engine that is capable of carrying 22.8 tons into low earth orbit, 8.3 tons into geostationary transfer orbit, and 4 tons into Mars transfer orbit. South Korea’s lunar orbiter weighs approximate 550 kg.
For the first stage of its lunar exploration effort, KARI plans to cooperate internationally with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on development and operation of the KPLO and establish the necessary core technology and an independent base for lunar exploration. The KPLO is to carry a payload of six items, including a domestically developed high-resolution camera, wide-angle polarimetric camera, lunar gamma ray spectrometer, lunar magnetic field scanner, and space internet, along with a shadow camera developed by NASA. [Hankyoreh]
It looks like in the New Year we can expect more North Korean ICBM launches disguised as space launches:
North Korea on Monday defended its push for space development as a “legitimate” exercise of its rights, sparking speculation that it may continue to stage missile provocations under the disguise of satellite launches.
The Rodong Sinmin, the official newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, claimed that with its launch of the Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite in February last year, Pyongyang has “in earnest” entered the stage of developing application satellites.
“Our satellite launch is a legitimate exercise of the right that thoroughly fits the U.N. Charter that enshrines the basic rights of respect for sovereignty and equality, and the international law that governs the peaceful use of space,” the newspaper said.
Enumerating foreign cases such as space development launches by Algeria and Venezuela, the newspaper said that space development has become a domain for international competition that involves not only a few advanced countries, but also many others.
“Our country is also in step with the trends of space development that is taking place broadly across the world,” it said. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but if the North Koreans want people to believe these are legitimate satellite launches then why don’t they invite inspectors to look at the payload on the rocket?
This is not surprising to people who have been following this issue, but stopping the foreign parts supply to North Korea is hopefully a major effort being taken by the US government:
Debris from a 2016 North Korean rocket launch
So far this year, North Korea has conducted 16 test launches of missiles, virtually each one personally approved by the country’s young dictator, Kim Jong-un. With every test, North Korea takes a step toward its ultimate goal: an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United states with a thermonuclear warhead.
This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent David Martin and producer Mary Walsh report just how close the North Koreans are to that goal — and how they get their hands on the parts to do it.
Martin and Walsh interviewed Hugh Griffiths, head of the team that monitors the North Korean missile program and their compliance with sanctions for the U.N. Security Council. During the interview, Griffiths showed the 60 Minutes team a series of stunning photos of rocket debris, which revealed the the inner workings of a North Korean missile.
“What makes this rocket fly was in those photos,” Walsh tells 60 Minutes Overtime in the video above. “And that’s what made them so valuable to the U.N. inspectors, but also to 60 Minutes.”
The recovery of North Korean rocket debris is highly unusual, says Griffiths. In February 2016, North Korea launched a satellite into orbit, and while the satellite wasn’t very serious, the rocket that launched it was. “I think most people around the world agree, the point of this test was not to put a satellite into orbit,” Martin says. “The point of this test was to try out technologies for an intercontinental ballistic missile.”
Before launch, North Korea filed a Notice to Airmen and Mariners, warning them that debris may fall from the sky in a designated area. The South Koreans, in turn, knew exactly where to go in an attempt to recover the debris for intelligence purposes.
To block the South Koreans from collecting their debris, the North Koreans rigged the rocket with explosives that were supposed to detonate after boosting the satellite into orbit, Griffiths says. The rocket was meant to self-destruct, rendering its parts unrecognizable. But that system failed, says Griffiths, leaving the South Koreans with a debris field to collect and analyze.
“This was a gold mine,” correspondent David Martin says. “You just get this in-depth, excruciatingly detailed understanding of how these missiles work.” [60 Minutes]
You can read more at the link, but considering the North Koreans may be planning to launch another ICBM disguised as a space launch it will be interesting to see if they put out a notice beforehand again? Considering the intelligence value the ROK received from the recovered debris from the last launch it will be interesting to see what the regime decides to do.
This photo, released by the North’s Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station on Feb. 7, 2016, shows North Korea’s “Kwangmyongsong-4” satellite being fired from the Dongchang-ri launch site in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province. The North launched the rocket in a move widely viewed as a disguised ballistic missile test in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions. (Yonhap)
North Korea said Monday it will launch more satellites as any sovereign country has the right to develop a space program amid speculation that it is preparing more provocative acts.
North Korea will place into space more satellites, including a stationary one, in accordance with its five-year space development program as it seeks to improve its economy and people’s livelihood, according to the Rodong Sinmun, the main newspaper.
“Some countries have manipulated U.N. sanctions resolutions against us and hindered the sovereign country’s space development. It is not a tolerable act,” the newspaper said. “It is a global trend that a country seeks the economic growth with the space program.” [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but the last time North Korea did a space launch they announced it and invited foreign journalists to the launch site. It will be interesting to see if they try and take this same approach to fire their next rocket.
