¡¡¡¡SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- South Korea's first proprietary liquid fueled rocket is scheduled to be launched on Nov. 27, the Ministry of Science and Technology has announced.

¡¡¡¡The KSR-III (Korea Sounding Rocket) will be set off on Nov. 27 in Anheung Proving Ground, 160 km southwest of Seoul, as planned, unless there are environmental or weather problems, the ministry was quoted by the national news agency Yonhap News as reporting onThursday.

¡¡¡¡Developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), thethree-stage scientific sounding rocket is the country's first liquid-powered rocket, and this will be a significant step toward developing a small satellite launch vehicle, the ministry said.

¡¡¡¡Different to KARI's previous KSR-I and II rockets, which were set off in 1993 and 1997, both used solid engines, KSR-III uses liquid fueled engine.

¡¡¡¡The KSR-III system, a project which began in December 1997 witha total investment of 78 billion won (64.15 million US dollars) is14-meter long, six-ton weight and has a thrust of 12.5 tons.

¡¡¡¡The rocket will reach up to 42 km from the ground with a maximum speed of 902 meters per second and fly 85 km in 230 seconds before it falls into the west sea area, the ministry added.

¡¡¡¡According to the ministry, KARI and related agencies have successfully carried out fire and ground tests for the liquid rocket engine in last May and last August to make preparation for the launch. They also completed a ground facilities test last month, and are now conducting final checks. Enditem

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