A View from the Outside: South Korea Nears Completion of First Space Center

ASK OCE — June 21, 2007 — Vol. 2, Issue 4

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is nearing the completion of the Naro Space Center.

The Naro Space Center, which is slated to open in 2008, will give South Korea the capability to launch its own spacecraft into space on its own rockets. It will include a launch pad, a mission control center, a radar tracking station, and rocket assembly and booster-test facilities. According to center officials, the facility is 95% complete, with only the launch pad remaining to be built.

In its National Aerospace Development Plan, the Korean government set a goal of ranking among the top ten aerospace industry countries by 2015. Until now, the country has had to rely on other governments to launch its rockets.