South Korea's Defense Ministry has carried out the successful launch of a solid-fuel carrier rocket, South Korean media reported on Friday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th December, 2022) South Korea's Defense Ministry has carried out the successful launch of a solid-fuel carrier rocket, South Korean media reported on Friday.
This test flight has been conducted with an eye on improving South Korea's defensive capabilities in space, the ministry was cited as saying by the Yonhap news agency. Seoul is planning to launch the rocket with a satellite as pay load in the near future, according to the agency.
"This flight test is a follow-up to the test on March 30 and we will achieve progress through the development process over the next several years... Our military will double down on efforts to reinforce defense capabilities, including for the space domain," the ministry was quoted as saying by Yonhap.
According to Yonhap, the rocket is capable of delivering small probes into a low Earth orbit to carry out space surveillance.
The rocket launch could reportedly be seen between 18:10 and 18:30 local time (9:10 and 9:30 GMT) by numerous eyewitnesses in South Korea. It left a colorful trail in the dark sky, supposedly caused by negative temperatures in the area of the rocket's trajectory.
The Korea Aerospace Research Institute previously said that it was looking into possibilities for designing a rocket combining liquid and solid fuel engines for better fuel economy and better capabilities for delivering a heavier payload into orbit.
