NURI SUCCESSFULLY CARRIES OUT COMBUSTION TEST

[Anchor Lead]

Following the launch of Naro in 2013, locally developed space rocket Nuri is scheduled to be launched in coming October. The final combustion test of the first-stage engine was carried out successfully, leaving only assembly and launch on its schedule. The government promised work together with the public and private sectors to propel Korea to the ranks of top seven space explorers.

[Pkg]

Thick blazes blast out from the engine, obscuring the surrounding area with a white smoke. This is the power of four 75-ton engines firing off at once. The engines have operated solidly for 125.5 seconds, passing the third and final combustion test for the Nuri rocket’s first-stage engine.

[Soundbite] Ko Jeong-hwan(Director, Korea Aerospace Research Institute) : "The goal was to burn the fuel normally until it was fully consumed. We saw that the goal was achieved."

The first stage engine of the Naro rocket launched in 2013 was just one 170-ton engine. But Nuri has four liquid-fueled engines set up together to actualize a 300-ton performance. This is the first space rocket made with purely local technology. Since the output balance from all four engines must be maintained exactly, the first stage engine was considered the biggest challenge in the Nuri development project. The second and third stage engines have already been developed, leaving the Nuri rocket with only assembly and launch phases before it goes to orbit.

[Soundbite] Choi Ki-young(Minister of Science and ICT) : "We now have independent space transport capacity by successfully completing the combustion test for a 300-ton grade first-stage engine."

President Moon was accompanied by aerospace scientists, government officials, and industrialists at the Naro Space Center where he reaffirmed the country’s commitment to space exploration.

[Soundbite] PRES. MOON JAE-IN : "The government will have the national space committee head upgraded to the level of prime minister. Capacities of the public and private sectors will be pulled together more closely to propel Korea firmly among the world’s top seven aerospace giants."

In October Nuri will be launched into a 700-kilometer low Earth orbit with a payload of a 1.5-ton satellite. Then Nuri, carrying a moon lander, will head into space again in 2030.