NURI'S LAUNCH POSTPONED

[Anchor Lead]

The second launch of the homegrown space rocket Nuri scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed to Thursday. Windy weather is known to be the reason as strong winds make it difficult for the rocket to be transferred to the launch pad.

[Pkg]

The science ministry and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute held a launch related meeting on Tuesday morning and decided to push back the schedule by one day. This includes the rocket's transport to the launch site and the launch itself. They said strong winds are blowing at the Naro Space Center and they may get stronger, which could hinder the safety of engineers at the launch pad.

[Soundbite] Oh Seung-hyub(KARI) : "We determined that weather conditions can pose difficulties in the rocket's transport to the launch site and also to the safety of engineers working on the erected launch pad."

Under the revised schedule, the rocket will be transferred to the launch site on Wednesday and launched on Thursday. Nuri was initially scheduled to move from the assembly building to the launch pad at 7:20 am Tuesday morning - a process that takes about an hour. That's now happening at the same time Wednesday. KARI held a meeting Monday evening and reviewed whether it was feasible to transport the rocket the following morning. Its decision was inconclusive due to the changing weather situation. In a second meeting held at 6 am Tuesday, KARI decided to postpone the launch. As of 7 a.m., Goheung county in Jeollanamdo Province, where the space center is located, reported wind speeds of 8 to 12 meters per second. 5 millimeters of sporadic rain was also in the forecast. Gusty winds can endanger the safety of engineers when erecting the rocket on the 48-meter-high launch pad. Rain can also cause slippery conditions for the vehicle transporting the rocket to the launch site.