South Korea's Nuri rocket lifts off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. [Korea Aerospace Research Institute]
South Korea's Nuri rocket lifts off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. [Korea Aerospace Research Institute]

South Korea's homegrown Nuri rocket (KSLV-II) will return to space on its fifth flight, carrying a total of 15 satellites, including ultra-small cluster satellites.

The Korea AeroSpace Administration said Tuesday it held the 10th meeting of the Working Committee for Space Development Promotion, where it deliberated and approved the results of the launch permit review for Nuri's fifth flight.

A launch permit review committee composed of civilian and government experts spent about three months comprehensively examining the rocket's intended use, the adequacy of its safety management plan, and its capacity to cover liability in the event of an accident.

The primary mission of the fifth launch is to place five ultra-small cluster satellites and 10 CubeSats into sun-synchronous orbit.

The ultra-small cluster satellites are designed to enhance national security and disaster response capabilities through high-frequency, high-precision observation. The 10 CubeSats will carry out a range of scientific and technology missions, including ionospheric observation, verification of domestically developed space components in the space environment, and ocean current analysis.

Having already demonstrated an independent space-launch capability through previous flights, Nuri is expected to continue building operational reliability and the capacity for self-reliant space access through sustained launches.

The working committee also deliberated and approved a revised development plan for South Korea's Korean Positioning System (KPS) satellites. The adjustment follows a revision to the KPS No. 1 satellite development plan in May last year and recalibrates the launch schedule for subsequent satellites.

Based on the revised plan, KASA aims to complete the deployment of all eight KPS satellites by 2035.

"We will connect this fifth Nuri launch to continued future launches and, further, to developing our capacity for self-reliant space access using our own launch vehicles," KASA Administrator Oh Tae-seok said. "We will diligently prepare for the launch through the launch management committee and other channels to safely deliver the onboard satellites to orbit."


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com