Nuriho completes final pre-launch checks; Newsis reports fifth launch success
In short
South Korea's Nuriho rocket completed final pre-launch readiness checks at 12:12 pm local time on Oct 7, about ten minutes before the scheduled liftoff of its fifth flight, according to the space agency and KARI. A Newsis article reported the launch then reached the target orbit and separated five main payload satellites, with one small cube satellite failing to separate, and said the government and researchers judged the flight a final success.
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Nuriho, South Korea's domestic launch vehicle, completed its final pre-launch readiness checks at 12:12 pm local time on Oct 7, about ten minutes before the scheduled liftoff of its fifth flight. The space agency and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said the launch automated operation would take over the preparations from 12:15 pm, ten minutes before liftoff. One Newsis dispatch on the countdown was datelined Goheung. [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
In an article carried with its 12:03 dispatch, Newsis reported that the launch succeeded, reaching the target orbit and separating five main payload satellites, with one small cube satellite failing to separate. The same article said the government and researchers judged the fifth launch a final success, and that the rocket had flown at its exact scheduled time for the first time on its fifth attempt. [ 1 ]
The same Newsis article's headline line said 14 cube satellites reached orbit, while its text said one small cube satellite failed to separate; the documents do not reconcile the two statements, and no other outlet gives a figure. Newsis also did not say what happened to the satellite that did not separate. [ 1 ]
Before the later dispatch, the same outlet had reported that Nuriho was entering final pre-launch preparation checks, and subsequent breaking dispatches from Newsis, Yonhap and Seoul Economic Daily reported that those checks were complete. Asia Economy also reported the checks complete at 12:14 pm, though its article text consisted of unrelated stories. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
Why it matters
Nuriho is South Korea's domestically developed launch vehicle, and the fifth flight is reported by Newsis as its first liftoff at the exact scheduled time after five attempts, with the government and researchers calling it a final success. The reported failure of one small cube satellite to separate is the kind of detail that would shape follow-up payload work, though the documents give no further assessment of it.
Key facts
- Final pre-launch readiness checks for Nuriho's fifth flight were completed at 12:12 pm local time on Oct 7, about ten minutes before the scheduled liftoff [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The space agency and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said the launch automated operation (PLO) would begin at 12:15 pm, ten minutes before liftoff [ 2 ]
- A Newsis article reported the launch reached the target orbit and separated five main payload satellites [ 1 ]
- The same Newsis article said one small cube satellite failed to separate [ 1 ]
- The same Newsis article said the government and researchers judged the fifth launch a final success [ 1 ]
- The same Newsis article said the rocket flew at its exact scheduled time for the first time, on its fifth attempt [ 1 ]
- One Newsis dispatch was datelined Goheung [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether the launch itself had already taken place when the pre-launch dispatches were published The Newsis dispatch published at 12:03 carried a headline and framing about pre-launch checks, while its article text described a completed, successful launch; the documents do not reconcile the timing.
- How many cube satellites reached orbit The Newsis article's headline line said 14 cube satellites reached orbit, while its text said one small cube satellite failed to separate; the same document is internally inconsistent and no other outlet reports the figure.
- The status of the small cube satellite that did not separate Reported only by Newsis, with no follow-up detail in any other document.
- The space agency and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said the launch would be run automatically from 12:15 pm, ten minutes before liftoff Reported by a single source so far
- According to Newsis, the launch reached the target orbit and separated five main payload satellites, and the government and researchers judged it a final success Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Newsis reports Nuriho has entered final pre-launch preparation checks [ 1 ]
- The space agency and KARI say final pre-launch checks are complete, about ten minutes before liftoff; Yonhap and Newsis report the same; the automated launch operation is set to begin at 12:15 [ 2 , 3 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports the pre-launch checks are complete, 13 minutes before liftoff [ 4 ]
- Asia Economy reports the pre-launch checks are complete [ 5 ]