This file photo made available by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute on Oct 20, 2021 shows the Republic of Korea's first homegrown space rocket "Nuri" being transported out of the assembly building to a launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung. (LEE HYO-KYUN / KOREA AEROSPACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE / AFP)
SEOUL – The Republic of Korea's military said it had successfully test-fired a solid-fuel space rocket for the first time on Wednesday, a step it says will help eventually launch a constellation of satellites to better monitor threats.
Wednesday's test verified the large solid-fuel engine, fairing separation, stage separation, and upper-stage attitude control technology, which are essential technologies for space launch vehicles, according to a statement
The launch is the first such test since the ROK and the United States agreed last year to end decades of restrictions on the ROK's ballistic missile and rocket development, and comes less than a week after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea conducted its highest missile test yet.
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"The success of the test launch of this solid-propelled space launch vehicle is an important milestone in strengthening the defense power of our military's independent space-based surveillance and reconnaissance field at a very critical time," the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, citing last week's test of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the DPRK.
The defense minister observed the launch of the rocket, which was developed with "pure Korean technology", the statement said.
In October, the ROK conducted the first test launch of the Nuri liquid-fueled rocket, its first domestically built space launch vehicle. Nuri blasted off but failed to fully place a dummy satellite into orbit, delivering mixed results for a test launch that represented a major leap for the country's ambitious space plans.
In contrast to the Nuri's liquid-fuel design, a solid-fuel rocket such as the one tested on Wednesday would be simpler, less expensive to develop and manufacture, and faster to launch, the defense ministry said.
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Wednesday's test verified the large solid-fuel engine, fairing separation, stage separation, and upper-stage attitude control technology, which are essential technologies for space launch vehicles, the statement added.
The ministry said it plans to eventually use the rocket to put a small satellite or a number of ultra-small satellites into low-Earth orbit in the future, and to later transfer some technology to the private sector to help revitalize the domestic space industry.