Article Posted on : - Jun 09, 2010

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) is placed on the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung. Photo: KARI

SEOUL (BNS): South Korea on Wednesday postponed the launch of KSLV-1 rocket due to some technical problems in the rocket's fire extinguisher system, a media report said.

According to the news agency Yonhap, the launch process was suspended after engineers discovered a leak in one of three oil fire extinguisher nozzles that are used when the rocket blasts off from the launch pad.

"The leak forced the launch originally set for 5 p.m. to be called off because technicians need to check the problem in detail," Yonhap quoted the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology spokesperson Pyun Kyung-bum as saying.

Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center have jointly developed the rocket KSLV-1.

KSLV-1, also known as the Naro-1, was earlier launched on August 25, 2009, but the mission failed due to some glitches in the vehicle fairing assembly.