The live video continued tracking the rocket into the second stage burn.
The booster jettisoned moments later, and a single KRE-075 engine on the Nuri’s second stage ignited to continue the climb into space. Two minutes after launch, the first stage’s four engines shut down. A tracking camera view streamed live on YouTube by South Korea’s science ministry showed the rocket soaring into a clear sky over the Korean coastline, where liftoff occurred at 5 p.m. The rocket arced downrange south from the Naro Space Center, and exceeded the speed of sound in less than a minute. After a smooth terminal countdown, four KRE-075 engines ignited with nearly 600,000 pounds of thrust to propel the Nuri launcher off the seaside launch pad. The launch team at the Naro Space Center loaded kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants into the three-stage rocket a few hours before liftoff. Managers delayed the launch an hour to evaluate valves in the rocket, Korean officials said. The Nuri rocket lifted off from the Naro Space Center, built on an island nearly 300 miles (500 kilometers) south of Seoul at 4 a.m. A preliminary review of data indicated the rocket’s third stage shut down early, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said. South Korea’s first domestically produced satellite launcher failed to reach orbit on its inaugural test flight Thursday.
