Nuri to launch Tuesday, weather permitting, after glitch fixed

The launch of Nuri has been rescheduled for Tuesday, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced Friday.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-II), or Nuri, is transported from the launch pad Wednesday at the Naro Space Center in Goheung County in South Jeolla, as the scheduled launch was delayed due to a technical glitch. [JOINT PRESS CORP]

The launch of Nuri has been rescheduled for Tuesday, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) announced Friday.

The announcement came two days after the scheduled launch of Korea's first domestically-developed carrier rocket was abruptly called off due to a technical glitch in a sensor on Wednesday, a day before the scheduled lift-off.

"The Ministry of Science and ICT and Korea Aerospace Research Institute held a launch management committee meeting and decided to pursue the second launch on June 21, Tuesday," said Kwon Hyun-joon, director general of the space, nuclear and big science policy bureau at the ministry.

The glitch was caused by a malfunctioning electrical part in an oxidizer tank sensor, and was replaced on Friday afternoon, Kwon said.

“We finished the replacement of the malfunctioning part this afternoon and confirmed that the part functions properly,” said Kwon. “We also conducted an electrical check-up on all three stages of the rocket, and found no issues.”

The launch of Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II (KSLV-II), known as Nuri, was delayed indefinitely on Wednesday, when a malfunction in a level sensor in an oxidizer tank was found during the pre-launch check-up process.

KARI began to inspect the KSLV-II Thursday, a day after the rocket was transported back to the assembly center from the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung County in South Jeolla.

The institute originally announced on Wednesday that the level sensor measuring the amount of oxidizer in a first-stage tank sent inaccurate data during the inspection process. The aerospace engineers determined that an electrical part in a sensor was causing the glitch Thursday.

Oxidizer is a substance that initiates combustion. The tank that contains the oxidizer is in the upper part of the first stage of the rocket, meaning that the oxidizer tank is situated above the fuel tank.

KARI originally considered dismantling the first and second stage of the rocket to inspect the sensor inside the oxidizer tank, which would have taken several days at least, but concluded that the technical adjustment could be made without dismantling the rocket. The liftoff is scheduled to take place at 4 p.m., Tuesday.

The rocket will be transported to the pad on Monday, a day before the launch. After going through a final inspection and fueling process, an automatic launch operation will be initiated for liftoff.

The weather remains an issue.

“The weather condition may change so we are keeping a close eye on that,” said Ko Jeong-hwan, director of the KSLV-II research and development directorate.

The launch was delayed two times so far.

The original launch date announced in May was Wednesday June 15, but on Tuesday it was delayed by a day due to weather conditions at the launch site. KARI designated a week from June 16 to 23 for launch dates.

The KSLV-II is a three-stage, liquid-fueled carrier rocket developed entirely with homegrown technologies. A total of 1.96 trillion won ($1.6 billion) has been spent on the KSLV-II since 2010.

The scheduled launch was Korea’s second attempt at launching a homegrown carrier rocket into space, following a trial on Oct. 21, 2021 that ended in partial success.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]