South Korea Launches First Rocket Into Space

South Korea launched a rocket into space from its own territory for the first time on Tuesday, but the mission failed to put a satellite into its intended orbit, a South Korean official said.

Photo: South Korea Launches First Rocket Into Space

South Korea Launches First Rocket Into Space

The launching of the rocket, which was built with the help of Russia, came one week after an initial attempt was called off because of a technical malfunction and four months after North Korea was widely denounced by the international community for launching a rocket of its own. The North had said it was putting a satellite aloft, but United States aerospace and military officials said they believed the North was actually testing long-range ballistic missile technology.

Office buildings in central Seoul echoed with cheers as the rocket, Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, or Naro-1, blasted off from South Korea’s space center on the central south coast, New York Times informs.

Ministry and space agency officials believe the 100-kilogram (220-pound) satellite was probably destroyed in the earth’s atmosphere, Vice Minister of Education, Science and Technology Kim Jung Hyun said.

The 140-ton Naro rocket, partly designed by Russia, lifted off from an island off the southern coast of South Korea yesterday. South Korea has spent about 500 billion won ($400 million) on its space program since 2002, including 312.5 billion won to build the Naro Space Center since 2005, reports Bloomberg.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called the launch a "half success."

"We must further strive to realize the dream of becoming a space power," Lee said, according to his office. Among Asian countries, China has conducted three manned space flights, and Japan and India have launched satellites into space.

Kim Tae-woo, a senior analyst of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said that despite the North's stance, Tuesday's launch was unlikely to have major implications on inter-Korean relations.

In recent weeks, the North has become markedly more conciliatory toward both the United States and South Korea.

Earlier this month, it freed two American journalists following a trip to Pyongyang by former President Bill Clinton. It has also freed a South Korean detainee, agreed to lift restrictions on border crossings with the South and resume suspended inter-Korean projects in industry and tourism, The Associated Press reports.