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The First Stage of КSLV-1 Launcher Delivered to South Korea. / April 5, 2010 /

«Polyet» airplane delivered the first stage for South-Korean launcher KSLV-I (The First Korean Space Launch Vehicle) to South Korean city of Pusan. After that, the stage will be shipped to Naro space center.

The second launch of KSLV-1 is scheduled for June 2010.

The KSLV-I’s first stage was produced by Khrunichev State Space Center.
To remind, maiden launch of the Korean rocket took place on August 25, 2009. The first stage produced by Khrunichev displayed nominal operation during this launch.

For information.

On October 26, 2004, during the visit of KhSC delegation headed by A.A. Medvedev, Director General, to South Korea, a contract was signed to design and build a Space Rocket Complex with a small-lift Launch Vehicle KSLV 1.

On behalf of the Russian side, the contract was signed by Alexander Medvedev, Director General, KhSC (KhSC being the Prime Contractor responsible for the overall design of the Complex) as well as by Boris Katorgin, Designer General, Energomash Research and Production Association (as the designer and manufacturer of the 1 st Stage engines), and Gennady Biryukov, Director General, Design Bureau for Transport Engineering (KBTM) (as the Ground Facility designer).

From the Korean side Dr. Chae Yeon-Seok, President, Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) signed the contract.

The design represents a joint effort: KhSC will build the 1st KSLV 1 Stage while the 2 nd Stage is to be designed and produced in South Korea .

The Contract with the Republic of Korea to develop a Space Rocket Complex with a small-lift Launch Vehicle KSLV 1 for this country has been the result of a long (more than two years) and effort-consuming exercise.

As the prerequisite for the Contract sign-off South Korea joined the international agreement designed to prevent proliferation of missile technologies. All documentation was reviewed by the Federal Space Agency (FSA) and the joint project to build the Korean rocket complex was approved during the visit of Mr. Roh Moo Hyun, President of the Republic of Korea , to Russia .

The Space Rocket Complex (SRC) will comprise a launch vehicle, launch pad and processing facilities, ground infrastructure (monitoring assets, power supply, office areas, living quarters, roads, etc.) and a mission control center. KhSC will be the lead developer of SRC. The Ground Facility will be designed by the Design Bureau for Transport Engineering. Energomash will design and produce the engines for the 1 st Stage of the Launch Vehicle. South Korean companies and organizations will also be involved in the design and manufacturing process for different elements of the Complex. The Korean Aerospace Research Institute is the Customer in this project.

KSLV-1 will be able to inject payloads with a mass up to 100 kg into low elliptical orbits with an altitude of 300 km in perigee and 1500 km in apogee. The launch vehicle is 33 meters long and 2.9 meters in diameter, and its overall mass is 140 MT.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle -1 (KSLV-1), carrying the S. Korea’s STSAT-2 satellite, was launched from the Naro Space Center at 5 p.m. local time Tuesday.

The Russian side of the joint project should regard the launch as successful while for the Korean side it is only partially so. Roscosmos entities have been responsible for the Russian-made first stage. It has performed nominally. The Russian space industry’s press office offers no other comment while specialists are busy analyzing telemetry and other data.

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