South Korea plans to develop a family of launch vehicles based on Krunichev's Angara booster, according to Russian reports. The Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) plans to produce up to 10 Angara-derived KSLV-1 boosters, including two for test launches and one to orbit a satellite, the reports say.
The KSLV-1 will be 80% based on a small Angara model and will be able to place a 100kg (220lb) satellite into low Earth orbit by 2006-7. A KSLV 2, to fly in 2010, will carry a 1,000kg payload, while a KSLV 3, which is to fly in 2015, will be capable of carrying a payload of 1,500kg.
A launch centre is being developed on Venarodo Island, in the strait between Korea and Japan. KARI, meanwhile, has arranged for a South Korean cosmonaut to fly to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz TMA in 2007.
*Satellite launches last year were their lowest since 1961, reflecting technical difficulties and satellite delays. Twelve geosynchronous communications satellites were launched in 2004, compared with 17 in 2003, says London-based Airclaims. The 54 attempted orbital flights, of which four failed, also reflected the downturn in the space industry, with reduced demand for communications satellites on one side and the enhanced spacecraft capability and transponder capacity on the other.
TIM FURNISS / LONDON
Source: Flight International
