The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) on Tuesday announced the date for the fourth launch of the country’s homegrown Nuri space rocket.
The Nuri, formally known as the Korea Space Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-II), will launch on November 27, Yonhap news agency reported.
KASA finalized the date following a launch management committee meeting held last week and a separate meeting reviewing the transportation of the main payload, a next-generation mid-sized satellite.
“This launch will be the first since the establishment of the space agency,” KASA Administrator Yoon Young-bin said.
“We will ensure flawless preparation and work as one team to achieve success,” Young-bin added.
KASA set the backup launch window between November 28 and December 4.
The rocket will lift off from the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung between 12:54 a.m. and 1:14 a.m., with officials deciding the exact time the previous day, the report said.
Alongside the main satellite, the rocket will carry 12 smaller satellites, which KASA will deliver to the space centre by the end of October.
Earlier this month, KASA announced it raised its 2026 budget by 15 per cent from this year to 1.11 trillion won (US$7.98 billion), directing most of the increase toward satellite development and lunar exploration.
KASA said it will concentrate the proposed funds in six major areas, including strengthening space transportation capacity, acquiring new technology, advancing satellite-based communications, navigation, and observation, and fostering future space industries through exploration, Yonhap reported.
For satellites, the budget will rise by 24.4 billion won to 236.2 billion won. This includes 6.2 billion won for developing ultra-high-resolution imaging satellites and projects for 6G-based low-orbit satellite communications.
In the space transportation field, KASA will decrease the budget by 46.4 billion won, or 14.9 per cent, to 264.2 billion won, following the conclusion of the Nuri rocket programme and the delay in the country’s next-generation launch vehicle project.
–IANS
