Goheung: South Korea's homegrown space rocket, Nuri, was transported to a launchpad on Tuesday, just two days ahead of its scheduled fourth launch. The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) oversaw the positioning of the 200-ton rocket at the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung, located 473 kilometers south of Seoul. The rocket was upright on the launchpad by 1:36 p.m. after being moved from a nearby assembly building earlier in the day.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the procedure faced a delay of 1.5 hours in the morning due to weather conditions, with the rocket being transported on a special vehicle traveling at 1.5 kph. KASA is set to carry out the remaining procedures, including preparations for injecting fuel and an oxidizer, with installation expected to continue until late afternoon.

"If we are unable to complete all of the scheduled procedures today, we plan to carry out additional work early on the following day to proceed with the launch operation as planned," KASA stated in a release. Despite the delay, the Nuri, formally known as the Korea Space Launch Vehicle II (KSLV-II), is still expected to lift off early Thursday as scheduled.

This launch marks the fourth attempt for the Nuri rocket, with Hanwha Aerospace Co. taking charge of the entire assembly process for the first time, aligning with the government's long-term plan to transfer space technologies to the private sector. The Nuri rocket's journey began in October 2021 when its first launch failed to enter orbit while carrying a 1.5-ton dummy satellite. A second attempt in June 2022 successfully put a Performance Verification Satellite (PVSAT) and a 1.3-ton dummy satellite into orbit. The third launch, held in May 2023, saw South Korea successfully deploying a next-generation small satellite and seven cube satellites into orbit.