MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2021) South Korea has presented a model of its first homegrown three-stage rocket, dubbed Nuri, for the first time since it started the development in 2010, as final tests near completion, the Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the science ministry.
In late March, the ministry said that scientists accomplished the third and final combustion test for the rocket's main first-stage engines, adding that the Korea Aerospace Research Institute is now set to test the rocket's launch pad until July and complete the assembly of the rocket's flight model.
An assembled qualification model of the space rocket has been transported to a launch pad at the Naro Space Center in the southern Goheung-gun county, where it is set to undergo testing for over one month, the news agency reported. The actual flight model of the rocket is under construction.
Seoul, a relative latecomer to the global space development race, has allocated nearly 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) to develop its own space launch vehicle since 2010. South Korea intends to send it into space in October, with the next launch to put a 1.5-tonne satellite into orbit scheduled for May 2022.
