spacetoday.net: South Korea successfully launches first rocket

South Korea successfully launches first rocket

Posted: Wed, Jan 30, 2013, 8:27 AM ET (1327 GMT)
KSLV-1 launch January 2013 (Yonhap)

A South Korean rocket placed a satellite in orbit successfully Wednesday, a first for the nation after two previous attempts failed. The Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle 1 (KSLV-1) lifted off from the Naro Space Center in the southern part of South Korea at 2:00 am EST (0700 GMT, 4:00 pm local time) Wednesday and placed the STSAT-2C spacecraft, weighing less than 100 kilograms, into its planned orbit nine minutes later. The launch took place after two previous launch attempts were scrubbed in October and November. The launch was the third for the KSLV-1, which features a Russian-built lower stage, but the two previous launches, in 2009 and 2010, failed to reach orbit.