[軍事一瞥]韓國首次發射運載火箭未達預定目標

WSJ:South Korea's First Space Rocket Launch Fails To Gain Orbit

South Korea launched a multi-stage rocket Tuesday in the country's first space shot, but the satellite it was carrying separated a few seconds later than planned and didn't reach the proper orbit.

officials at the Korea Aeronautical Research Institute said there was a chance that the late separation would result in a failed orbit. With first communication not expected for another 12 hours, the launch left uncertainty as to whether South Korea has successfully become the 10th country to launch satellites from its own soil.

The two-stage rocket, called Korea Space Launch Vehicle I or KSLV-I, blasted off at 5 p.m. into blue skies from the seaside Naro Space Center, near the city of Goheung on the country's south coast. It flew in a southerly direction and jettisoned its first stage about four minutes after launch in an area of the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines. The satellite separated from the rocket about five minutes later.

But the separation occurred at an altitude about 35 kilometers higher than the planned 306 kilometers. Agency officials were uncertain how long it would take to determine whether the satellite reached a sustainable north-south orbit as planned.

South Korea's space agency has been active for nearly two decades and, since 1992, has launched 11 satellites via other countries' rockets and space agencies. In recent years, it developed a close relationship with the Russian space agency and sent the first Korean astronaut, Yi So-yeon, to the International Space Station on a Russian vessel last year.

The Russian agency built the first stage of the 140-ton KSLV-I. The Korean agency built the rocket's second stage and the 100-kilogram satellite, which will measure effects of climate and weather changes.

The agency attempted the launch last Wednesday but aborted it with about seven minutes left in the countdown due to a problem with a sensor monitoring high-pressure fuel. South Korea spent about 500 billion won, or about $400 million, on the rocket. It plans to launch a similar rocket and scientific satellite next April.

韓國首次發射運載火箭未達預定目標

韓國週二在該國的首次太空發射中發射了一枚多級運載火箭，但所攜帶衛星與火箭的分離時間比計劃晚了幾秒鐘，衛星未能進入預定軌道。

韓國的電視臺在直播火箭發射韓國航天研究所(Korea Aeronautical Research Institute)的官員說，可能是分離過晚導致衛星未進入預定軌道。由於首次星地聯絡預計還要再等12個小時，這次發射給韓國是否成功成爲第十個在本土發射衛星的國家留下了懸念。

被稱作“韓國航天運載器一號”的兩級火箭是週二下午5時從韓國南部海岸高興郡的羅老宇航中心發射升空的。它向南部方向飛行，發射4分鐘後第一級火箭分離，落到菲律賓東部的太平洋水域。又過了約5分鐘，衛星與火箭分離。

但星箭分離的高度比計劃的306公里高出約35公里。有關部門官員還不能肯定需要多長時間才能判斷衛星是否進入了正常預定軌道。

在因技術故障經歷了一次發射推遲後，韓國成功地將“羅老號”火箭送入了太空。但該枚火箭未能將其運載的科學衛星送入預定軌道。韓國空間機構近20年來一直表現活躍，從1992年以來已通過其它國家的衛星和空間機構發射了11顆衛星。近年來，它加深了同俄羅斯航天部門的關係，去年第一名韓國宇航員李素妍搭載俄羅斯飛船進入了國際空間站。

俄羅斯方面建造了140噸重的“韓國航天運載器一號”火箭的第一級。韓國方面建造了第二級和100公斤重的衛星。這顆衛星將測量氣候和天氣變化情況。

韓國原計劃於上週三進行發射，但在距離發射還有7分鐘時，由於監測高壓燃料的傳感器出現問題，發射被臨時取消。韓國在這枚火箭上投入了約5,000億韓圓（約4億美元）。它計劃在明年4月份發射同樣的火箭和科學衛星。