SEOUL — South Korea’s indigenous space program achieved another major milestone on Tuesday as the fifth launch of the Nuri space rocket (KSLV-II) successfully carried and deployed 15 satellites into their target orbits.

Blasting off from Pad No. 2 at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, at precisely 12:25 p.m., Nuri soared into the sky amid a roar of engines and billowing white vapor. It marked the first time a Nuri rocket has lifted off right on schedule.

Flawless Flight Sequence and Satellite Deployment
According to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the rocket executed its flight sequence precisely as planned:

T+123 seconds: First-stage separation at an altitude of 67 km, followed by second-stage engine ignition.
T+233 seconds: Payload fairing separation at an altitude of 224 km.
T+268 seconds: Second-stage separation at an altitude of 277 km.
T+810 seconds: The third-stage engine shut down after reaching the target altitude of 575 km, successfully ejecting the primary payload—Compact Advanced Satellite 500 (CAS500) / Micro-Satellite Cluster No. 2.
Following the main satellite, Nuri executed a series of maneuvers every 35 to 40 seconds, rotating 45 degrees over a 150-second window to deploy an additional 5 cluster satellites sequentially.

Between 995 and 1,035 seconds into the flight, the rocket carried out five consecutive ejections of 10 cube satellites, starting with payloads from Cosmosworks and Chosun University. DaejeonSat, along with a Space Lintech cube satellite, was deployed fifth in the sequence to enter its operational orbit.

After completing the deployment of all 15 satellites, Nuri executed a collision-avoidance maneuver to distance itself from the payloads, safely discharged its remaining fuel, and successfully concluded its 19-minute and 45-second flight. The rocket will eventually re-enter the atmosphere and burn up due to Earth's gravity.

Public Celebration and Official Briefing
KARI broadcast the entire launch sequence, fairing separation, and satellite deployment live. Citizens watching the YouTube stream flooded the live chat with celebratory comments and cheers as the rocket successfully hit every milestone against the backdrop of Earth.

During a press briefing at 1:00 p.m., Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) Administrator Oh Tae-seok announced, "Nuri has successfully reached its target orbit following all planned flight procedures."

"The primary objective of this launch was to safely place five cluster satellites into their target orbit using a new orbital maneuvering method," Oh added. "Currently, KARI is analyzing telemetry data from the satellites via tracking stations in Naro, Jeju, and Palau. We will hold an additional briefing around 2:00 p.m. once the initial ground station communication status is confirmed."

With satellite deployment and orbital insertion successfully verified, space authorities are now awaiting final confirmation of two-way communication with the newly deployed spacecraft.

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