Main » 2013»February»2 » South Korea joined the club of space powers.
South Korea joined the club of space powers.
17:11
On January 30, 2013 at 07:00 UTC the KSLV-1 (Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1) rocket-carrier also known as Naro-1 was launched from the Naro Space Center, located 480 kilometers south of Seoul. The rocket orbited the STSAT-2C research satellite. The Science and Technology Satellite 2C (STSAT 2C) will collect data on space radiation. Russia’s Khrunichev Space Center built the KSLV-1's first stage under a 2004 agreement. The solid-fuel second stage and the satellite payload were designed and built in South Korea. The launch comes just a month after rival North Korea launched a rocket with a satellite into space on December 29. South Korea joined a small group of countries with the ability to build and launch their own satellites into orbit. Seoul became the 11th member of an elite club of Space Nations. The former Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1, in October 1957. The United States followed with the successful launch of Explorer 1 in January 1958. France, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, India and Israel later flew their own space launchers. Iran joined the space launch club in 2009 and North Korea joined the space launch club in December 2012.
