[Anchor]
Today (October 7), South Korea's Nuri space launch vehicle is set to soar into space once again. For its fifth launch, it will carry the heaviest payload and the largest number of satellites in its history.
Reporter Seo Donggyun has the details.
[Reporter]
Today's fifth launch of Nuri is tentatively targeted for 12:23 PM.
The exact launch time will be finalized by the Nuri Launch Management Committee.
Earlier yesterday morning at 6:00 AM, the 16-story-apartment-high Nuri emerged from the assembly building and headed toward the launch pad.
It was loaded onto an unmanned special transport vehicle and moved slowly to avoid jarring its approximately 370,000 parts.
At 7:30 AM, an hour and a half after leaving the assembly building, it arrived at Launch Pad Complex 2 and the erection process began.
At 10:35 AM, the erection of Nuri was completed, and the umbilicals, referred to as Nuri's "umbilical cords" for supplying power and propellants, were connected.
Having completed preparations for its fifth launch, Nuri is heading into space carrying a total of 15 satellites, including five ultra-small cluster satellites.
This is the largest number of payloads and the heaviest weight carried since Nuri's inaugural launch in 2021.
The payload weight is 1,071 kilograms, an increase of more than 100 kilograms from the 960 kilograms of the fourth launch.
The target altitude is 570 kilometers.
The core objective of this launch is to deploy the five cluster satellites sequentially at intervals of 35 to 40 seconds to prevent them from colliding with one another.
Once the ultra-small cluster satellites reach their target orbits, they will frequently observe the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions in high resolution.
Following its first launch, which failed to place its payload into orbit, Nuri has successfully completed all missions from its second to fourth launches.
Attention is focused on whether this fifth launch, which will be its heaviest flight carrying the most satellites to date, can also be successfully completed.
(Video Editing: Lee So-young)
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