spacetoday.net: KSLV launch fails

Posted: Thu, Jun 10, 2010, 2:05 PM ET (1805 GMT)
KSLV-1 on second launch

The second attempt by South Korea to launch a satellite into orbit failed Thursday when the rocket apparently exploded in flight. The KSLV-1 rocket (also called Naro-1) lifted off from Naro Space Center in southern South Korea at 4:01 am EDT (0801 GMT), carrying the STSAT 2B experimental satellite. However, communications with the rocket were lost 137 seconds after liftoff, around the time a camera detected a bright flash of light. A government minister said that the rocket apparently blew up at that time at an altitude of 70 kilometers. Officials speculate the failure was caused by a problem with the first stage engine, an RD-151 provided by Russian company NPO Energomash. The launch was the second for the small rocket, built by South Korea with support from Russia; the first KSLV-1 failed to place its payload in orbit last August when its payload fairing failed to separate.