S. Korea joins global space club

SOUTH KOREA: South Korea succeeded Wednesday in its third attempt to launch a satellite into orbit, meeting a high-stakes challenge to national pride a month after rival North Korea succeeded in the same mission.

A positive outcome after successive failures in 2009 and 2010 was critical to ensuring the future of South Korea's launch programme and realising its ambition of membership of an elite global space club.

The 140-tonne Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-I) blasted off at 4:00 pm (0700 GMT) from the Naro Space Center on the south coast, reaching its target altitude nine minutes later and deploying its payload satellite.

Scientists and officials gathered at the space centre cheered, applauded and hugged each other as the satellite was released.

"After analysing various data, the Naro rocket successfully put the science satellite into designated orbit," Science Minister Lee Ju-Ho told reporters at the space centre.

"This is the success of all our people," Lee said. South Korea was a late entrant into the high-cost world of space technology and exploration and repeated failures had raised questions over the viability of the launch programme.

"This success has put the country's entire rocketry programme back on track," said independent space analyst Morris Jones.

They were under enormous pressure, given the earlier failures and the North's success last month, and this will give them confidence and, of course, secure critical political and financial support for the future," Jones said.

But South and North Korea still face a long slog to catch up with the other Asian powers with a proven track record of multiple launches -- China, Japan and India.

Initially scheduled for October 26, Wednesday's launch had been twice postponed for technical reasons.

AFP