Nuri to Launch Into Space at 12:25 PM…Final Preparations Underway

[Anchor]

Nuri, the space launch vehicle built with South Korean technology, will begin its fifth space flight in about 30 minutes. Following its first attempt around this time five years ago, it has completed four launches up until last autumn. Now, if this fifth launch succeeds, it will place satellites that can be directly utilized in practical life into orbit for the first time. Let us connect to the Naro Space Center in Goheung, Jeollanam-do, to check the final preparations.

Reporter Han Sung-hee, when is the countdown scheduled to begin?

[Reporter]

Starting at 12:15 PM, 10 minutes prior to launch, Nuri enters an automated operation phase to check its own status.

From this point until launch, all processes proceed without human intervention.

If any anomaly is detected during the automated operation, the launch will be automatically aborted. If there are no issues, the launch will proceed as scheduled shortly at 12:25 PM.

At the Launch Control Center, which controls the launch pad facilities, 23 employees from Hanwha Aerospace are participating across 22 consoles, with 18 of them directly operating the consoles.

During the fourth launch, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute operated the consoles, but this time, Hanwha is handling a significant portion while the Korea Aerospace Research Institute takes on a management and supervisory role.

[Anchor]

When will it be determined whether the launch is successful?

[Reporter]

Yes, the Korea AeroSpace Administration plans to announce whether the launch is successful at around 2:00 PM, about 1 hour and 35 minutes after launch.

If Nuri reaches its target altitude and the five micro-cluster satellites loaded on the top stage are properly positioned in orbit, the launch can be judged a success.

First, the initial hurdle is whether Nuri's first and second stages separate sequentially at the designated times.

Beginning with the separation of the first stage 2 minutes and 3 seconds after launch, the fairing separation—the protective cover enclosing the satellites—and the second stage separation will also take place at scheduled times. Afterward, the power of the third-stage engine must propel the vehicle up to the target altitude of 575 km above the Earth.

From that point on, the satellite deployment process begins.

This time, Nuri will adjust its posture to prevent the five cluster satellites from colliding, deploying them one by one at intervals of 35 to 40 seconds. Following that, it will release 10 cube satellites measuring 10 cm by 10 cm into space in pairs at 10-second intervals, thereby completing Nuri's mission.

(On-site Production: Pyeon Chan-hyung, Video Reporting: Lee Chan-soo, Video Editing: So Ji-hye)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.