Military calls off fourth solid-fuel rocket test over safety concerns

Korea's military called off the fourth test launch of its homegrown solid-fuel space rocket on Tuesday, citing safety concerns after problems emerged during final preparations on the day of the scheduled launch.

"Some problems were found during final launch preparations, so the launch was halted out of safety considerations," the Ministry of National Defense's spokesperson wrote in a text message sent to reporters on Tuesday afternoon. 

Authorities did not specify the nature of the issue or provide a new test launch date, though they stated that the latter will be announced separately.

The rocket, developed by the Agency for Defense Development, is designed to send small military reconnaissance satellites into low orbit, providing the country a way to launch them quickly when needed.

The fourth flight was to be the program's most advanced test yet.

The military has run three successful tests since 2022. The most recent test took place off the southern coast of Jeju Island in December 2023, when the rocket lifted a small radar reconnaissance satellite into orbit. The tests are staged from a barge at sea to avoid the need for a large safety zone on land.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]