The fifth launch of the "Korean-made rocket" Nuri will take place at 12:25 p.m. on the 7th from the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province.
The Ministry of Space announced that it finalized the launch time during the Nuri Launch Management Committee meeting held from 8 a.m. on the 7th.
The committee comprehensively reviewed the technical readiness status of the Nuri rocket, weather conditions, space environment, and the possibility of collision with space objects, aiming for the primary payload satellites—five small constellation satellites—to enter their target orbit, and finalized the launch time at 12:25 p.m.
At a pre-launch briefing held at the Naro Space Center at 8:35 a.m. on the day, Woo Ju-hang-gong (Commissioner) Oh Tae-seok stated, "Launch preparations have been proceeding normally according to the planned schedule so far, and no technical issues have occurred."
The Nuri rocket was transported to the launch pad and erected on the morning of the 6th. The umbilical connection for fuel and power supply was completed, and subsequent additional work was finished at 11:30 p.m. on the night of the 6th. The launch team has been inspecting the rocket, launch pad sensors, and equipment since 5 a.m. on the 7th.
Currently, the temperature, precipitation, and pressure conditions around the Naro Space Center all meet the launch criteria. Launch conditions are not met if the average wind speed of ground winds around the launch pad exceeds 15 meters per second or if the maximum instantaneous wind speed exceeds 21 meters (per second). It was explained that as of 8:50 a.m., the average wind speed is 2 meters per second and the maximum instantaneous wind speed is 5 meters per second, which is at a level that poses no problem for launch.
In addition, a small meteorological observation device was released to an altitude of approximately 20 kilometers (km) at 2 p.m. on the 6th to measure upper-level wind conditions. As a result, it was confirmed that the weather conditions in the upper atmosphere also meet the launch feasibility criteria for the Nuri rocket.
Furthermore, clear weather with no clouds is expected, so the launch does not fall under the restriction conditions related to lightning strikes.
The space environment situation due to solar activity is also favorable. When solar activity becomes intense, strong electromagnetic waves or high-energy particles are emitted from the sun, which can affect the rocket's electronic equipment and cause obstacles in communication or navigation.
According to today's forecast by the Space Environment Center, the possibility of warnings occurring due to solar flare explosions and solar particle influx is low. It was judged that geomagnetic and ionospheric disturbances are not at a level that would affect the Nuri launch.
As a result of analyzing the possibility of collision between the flight path of the Nuri rocket and trackable space objects such as the International Space Station, operating satellites, and space debris, the possibility of collision with space objects was also found to be low.
Oh (Commissioner) stated, "After comprehensively reviewing the rocket's readiness status and launch safety elements, we have decided to proceed with the final launch procedure as scheduled, and the final launch time is 12:25 p.m."
in TECH
