Nuri (KSLV-II) Completes Full Assembly Today for Fifth Launch; Set to Head into Space on the 7th

[Financial News] South Korea's launch vehicle Nuri (KSLV-II) has begun full assembly and final checks for its fifth launch on the 7th. The planned launch window is from 12:23 p.m. to 1:23 p.m. The exact launch time will be determined after a comprehensive review of the day's weather conditions and the possibility of collisions with space objects.
According to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute on the 5th, Nuri (KSLV-II) will be loaded onto a transporter, the vehicle used to move it to the launch pad, on the afternoon of that day. It will then be taken to the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung County on the 6th and erected. After electrical and propulsion-system checks and preparations for propellant loading at the launch pad, it will be launched on the 7th. In other words, Nuri (KSLV-II) will complete its final checks before being moved to the launch pad and be ready for launch at any time.
The full assembly process, which continued through the previous day, reportedly proceeded without any significant problems.
Hanwha Aerospace took overall responsibility for the production of Nuri (KSLV-II) for this launch. Of the 22 consoles at the Launch Control Center (LCC), 23 Hanwha Aerospace personnel will work at 20. Eighteen of them will operate the consoles directly. Hanwha Aerospace has overseen production since the fourth launch.
Before the Chuseok holiday, researchers and workers assembled the first and second stages, loaded the satellite onto the third stage, and covered it with the satellite protective fairing. They reportedly worked through the weekend before Chuseok, foregoing their time off.
After Chuseok, they assembled the first and second stages and the third stage and carried out final checks.
On the 29th of last month, Nuri (KSLV-II) completed the process of joining the third stage carrying the satellite with the previously assembled first and second stages.
It then underwent the process of closing and sealing the inspection windows, which allow personnel to look inside, after the satellite's power was charged and various checks were completed.
Researchers and workers are devoting themselves to the final pre-launch checks, foregoing even the holiday break.
The fifth launch is not simply a one-time rocket launch. Along with the complex mission of deploying the largest number of satellites ever into orbit in a predetermined sequence and at set intervals, it will also test the private sector's launch operations capabilities.
Since its third launch, Nuri (KSLV-II) has transitioned to mission launches carrying actual satellites. Rather than focusing on a single successful launch, the government's Korean Launch Vehicle Upgrade Project, which has been underway since 2022, centers on building procedural consistency and reliability by repeatedly manufacturing, testing, and operating the same system.

[email protected] Reporter Sohyun Park Reporter