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Delayed Nuri space rocket departs for launchpad

Published: 25 Nov. 2025, 10:38

The Nuri space rocket is seen at the assembly building of the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla, on Nov. 20. [KOREA AEROSPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE]

The Nuri space rocket departed for the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla, after a delay due to the weather conditions on Tuesday morning.

According to the Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the rocket’s transport began at 9 a.m. — an hour and 20 minutes later than the original 7:40 a.m. plan due to expected rain around 8 a.m.

The Nuri rocket was loaded onto a transporter vehicle and moved from the assembly building to the Second Launch Pad within the Naro facility, covering a distance of about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles). Moving at a speed of around 1.5 kilometers per hour (0.9 miles per hour), the journey was expected to take about one hour and 10 minutes.

After arriving at the pad, the rocket will go through a vertical erection process. KARI said it would proceed with connecting umbilicals and conducting airtightness checks in the afternoon to prepare for launch operations, including supplying power and propellants such as fuel and oxidizer.

If all goes as planned, installation of the rocket on the launch pad will continue late into the night. However, the schedule may change depending on weather conditions. If Tuesday’s tasks are not completed, additional work will be carried out on Wednesday morning.

The launch is scheduled for between 12:54 a.m. and 1:14 a.m. on Thursday. The Launch Management Committee will finalize the launch time at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

This fourth launch of the Nuri rocket is significant as it marks Korea’s entry into the “New Space” era, in which private companies lead the space industry. While the first three launches were led by KARI, this rocket was built under the full direction of Hanwha Aerospace. The launch itself, however, remains under KARI’s oversight.

Children watch the model of a Nuri space rocket being erect at the Gwacheon National Science Museum in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 23. [YONHAP]

The payload includes 13 satellites — the main payload being the Next-Generation Small Satellite No. 3, along with 12 small cube satellites. By comparison, eight satellites were carried on Nuri’s third launch in May 2023.

Developed by Korea Aerospace Industries, the Next-Generation Small Satellite No. 3 carries three payloads. Built by Hallym University, the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, and KAIST, the payloads will carry out missions such as studying cardiovascular disease in space, observing auroras and measuring space plasma.

The 12 cube satellites were developed independently by domestic universities, research institutions and companies selected through a public contest.

This will be the first nighttime launch for the Nuri rocket. To fulfill its aurora observation mission, the main satellite must reach a sun-synchronous orbit about 600 kilometers (373 miles) above Earth. Due to the Naro Space Center’s location, the optimal launch time for entering this orbit is around 1 a.m.

Maritime access near the launch site in Goheung will be restricted before and during the launch. A total of 27 ships — including 21 Korea Coast Guard patrol boats, two Navy vessels, two fisheries monitoring ships from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and two local government vessels from Yeosu and Goheung — will be deployed to enforce the no-access zone.

According to the Yeosu Coast Guard, ship entry will be prohibited from two hours before launch until 10 minutes after liftoff. The restricted zone includes a 3-kilometer radius from the launch pad, plus a 24-kilometer-wide, 78-kilometer-long corridor along the rocket’s flight path. The restrictions are expected to last from 10:54 p.m. a day before the launch, until 10 minutes after launch.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]