SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea decided to
launch its first space rocket at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) Tuesday, after a series
of delays caused by technical problems.
"After a full launch rehearsal, we concluded the
rocket is now ready for liftoff," said an official at Seoul's Ministry of
Education, Science and Technology, which is in charge of the rocket launch.
Full checks on all control, communication and
mechanical systems conducted earlier on Monday showed all on-board systems were
functioning normally.
Weather conditions are also favorable for launch,
with a slight breeze and little chance of lightning, according to the ministry.
"Sudden unforeseen weather conditions may delay the
liftoff," said Vice Science and Technology Minister Kim Jung-hyun, adding that
the launch window has been excluded between 5:20 (0820 GMT) and 5:30 p.m. (0830
GMT) due to chance that space objects orbiting the Earth could collide with the
rocket or satellite.
Following fuel and oxidation injection around 3
p.m. (0600 GMT), which takes about one hour, the automatic 15-minute countdown
sequence will be started at 4:45 p.m. (0745 GMT).
The 1st-stage engine will be ignited 3.8 seconds
before the rocket launch, and the success of the launch will be first confirmed
540 seconds after the liftoff.
The first communication with the satellite and South
Korea is expected to be made 12 to 13 hours after the blast-off if the satellite
safely makes it to its orbit.
The launch of South Korea's first space rocket, Korea
Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1), was originally scheduled for July 30, but had
to be postponed twice to Aug. 19 due to technical issues.
The countdown for the Aug. 19 launch, however, was
again suspended 7 minutes and 56 seconds before ignition due to a problem in the
high pressure tank that can affect valves in the first-stage rocket.
If the KSLV-1 is successfully launched, South Korea
will be marked as the world's 10th country to shoot a locally developed
scientific satellite in its territory.¡¡
