Seoul readies bid to launch satellite

The Republic of Korea is scheduled to launch a satellite into space on Friday in its third attempt to join an elite club that includes Asian powers China, Japan and India.

After two failures in 2009 and 2010, the 140-ton Korea Space Launch Vehicle KSLV-1 will, blast off from the Naro Space Center on the south coast.

Success will mean a huge boost for the ROK - a late entrant into the high-cost world of space technology and exploration that is desperate to get its commercial launch program up and running.

The KSLV-1 will carry a 100-kilogram scientific satellite, which has a one-year operational lifespan and will mainly collect data on space radiation.

Seoul's space ambitions were restricted for many years by its main military ally the United States, which feared that a robust missile or rocket program would accelerate a regional arms race.

The ROK's space budget for 2012 is around $200 million, according to the Science Ministry.

In a recent paper for the Council on Foreign Relations, James Moltz, a professor at the US Naval Postgraduate School, said Seoul had little option but to pursue an expensive catch-up strategy.

"As a middle-sized power, Seoul has to invest a higher percent of its resources into space activity if it hopes to develop a sustainable niche position among Asia's larger and more established space powers, which are decades ahead of it," Moltz said.

Japan and China both achieved their first satellite launches back in 1970, and India made its breakthrough in 1980. But the lack of US support contributed to South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, lagging behind.

However, soon after joining the Missile Technology Control Regime in 2001, the ROK made Russia its go-to space partner - a relationship that has known a number of rocky patches.

As with the two previous failed attempts, the KSLV-1 used for Friday's launch has a first stage manufactured by Russia, combined with a solid-fuelled second stage built by the ROK.

In 2009, the rocket achieved orbit but faulty release mechanisms on the second stage prevented proper deployment of the satellite.

The second effort in 2010 saw the rocket explode two minutes into its flight, with both Russia and the ROK pointing the finger of blame at each other.

Whatever the outcome on Friday, Seoul insists it remains committed to developing a totally indigenous three-stage, liquid-fuelled rocket capable of carrying a 1.5-ton payload into orbit by 2021.