South Korean rocket 'explodes' after take-off by Magdalena Rosova

A South Korean space rocket Naro-1 exploded on Thursday, just three minutes after it had taken off. South Korea wanted to become a rival in Asia's space race but the explosion dashed its hopes. The rocket should have put a satellite into orbit. Science and Technology Minister Ahn Byong-Man said the rocket had blown up 137 seconds after take off. Russian and South Korean engineer are now trying to find out what caused the explosion. The video showed a bright flash on the top of the Nero. South Korea wanted to join nine other Asian nations which have successfully put a satellite into orbit. Many South Koreans came to see the celebratory blast off from the Naro Space Center, b! ut they experienced huge disappointment. After 137 seconds ground control lost contact with the rocket. In the moment of the explosion it was at an altitude of 70 kilometers. South Korea tried to put the satellite to orbit first time in last August, but that attempt failed as the nose cone of the rocket did not open and the satellite was not released. Lee Jae-Woo, a space expert at Seoul's Konkuk University, said it was not clear what caused the explosion but he thinks there were a problem with the first stage of the rocket. Lee further said South Korea had hurried too much with the launch. Before the launch there was a problem with a fire extinguisher system, but the launch was postponed just one day. Lee Joo-Jin, head of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, that problem had been sorted out and it had not caused the explosion.

related story (sgx17554): http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/06! /20106.. .

by Magdalena Rosova for Cantell TV (http://cantell.tv)

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