South Korea will build a more powerful space rocket than its current model entirely with its own technology with the aim of launching the rocket after 2021, the state-run aerospace institute said Friday.

   The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said the planned Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-2) will be powered by indigenous liquid-fuel engines that will give 77 percent more power than the single power unit on board the Naro-1 rocket built by Russia.

   "The KSLV-2 will be a three-stage rocket vis-a-vis the two-stage configuration in the Naro-1 and will only use liquid fuel boosters," KARI said.

   According to the "conceptual design," the next rocket will be 50 meters long, have a maximum diameter of 3.3 meters, weigh 200 tons and be designed to carry a 1.5-ton satellite into Earth's orbit.
It will be powered by four engines with 75 tons of thrust each in the first stage, a single 75-ton-thrust engine in the second stage and an engine with 5 to 10 tons of thrust in the third stage.

   The all-liquid-fuel engine arrangement will make it possible for the rocket to better place a satellite into precise orbit about 600-800 kilometers from the Earth's surface, compared to "mix" liquid and solid fuel booster systems used by the Naro-1 rocket.

   The Naro-1 is 33.5 meters long, 2.9 meters wide, weighs about 140 tons and has a Russian-made engine that can produce 170 tons of thrust. South Korea had built a small 100-kilogram scientific satellite for the rocket.

   KARI said the overall length of the next rocket has been increased by 5 meters from the draft design so it can better withstand the shock on its structure during takeoff.

   "The KSLV-2 launch plan and the overall design are subject to change in the development stage with the availability of funding further affecting schedules," a source said.

   The source said the original 2021 launch date for the KSLV-2 will probably be pushed back due to funding restraints.

   Design work began in March 2010 with Seoul expecting to invest 1.5 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) into the project, compared to 502.5 billion won used since 2002 on the Naro-1 program that was carried out in close cooperation with Russia. South Korea sought Russian cooperation because it had no experience in the launching of space rockets.

   Seoul launched two Naro-1 rockets, in 2009 and 2010, although both failed to place a satellite in orbit.

   The institute in Daejeon, about 160 kilometers south of Seoul, also said the government is reviewing an option to launch a small rocket with thrust of around 10 tons in 2015 to check the capability of boosters that will be used in the KSLV-2, although funding problems may affect this plan.

Source: Yonhap News (May 27, 2011)