Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), responsible for the launch, said despite a light drizzle reported at the Naro Space Center 485km south of Seoul, engineers and launch coordinators moved the rocket from the assembly building to the pad without any complications.

It said the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) has been placed vertically on the launch pad at 16:15 (Seoul Time), with engineers to complete connecting the various fuel lines and system control cables to the rocket by 21:30. Once all the cables are placed, a final "rehearsal" for the launch is planned for Tuesday to determine if the blastoff can take place on time. Wednesday's blastoff is expected to take place sometime between 16:40 and 18:20.

"The exact time of the rocket launch should be made at 14:00 on Tuesday, after experts have examined all conditions, including the weather at the Naro center," a ministry official said.

South Korea already notified both the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization that the KSLV-1 will be launched Aug. 19, although it reserved a "window" until Aug. 26 in case of unforeseen delays.

The blastoff date was originally scheduled for July 30, but was pushed back to Aug. 11 after Russia said it could not conduct the critical fire test on time. It was again postponed earlier in the month following the discovery of an abnormal spike in revolution numbers in a support booster pump in the engine, which was found to be caused by a diagnostic glitch.

South Korea, which has no experience in launching a space rocket capable of carrying a satellite into orbit, has been working with Russia to build the KSLV-1. Russia's Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center is responsible for building and testing the main first stage rocket.

The rocket, developed at a cost of 502.5 billion won (US$405.5 million), stands 33m tall, has a diameter of 2.9m, weighs 140 tons and can generate 170 tons of thrust. The first stage liquid-fueled rocket was made in Russia, while the satellite and the smaller, second stage solid-fueled rocket were made domestically. KSLV-1 to send up locally-made scientific satellite

South Korea's first space rocket will send up a locally-built scientific satellite that can fuel future development of various hi-tech orbiting machines, think tanks said Monday.

The 100-kilogram Science and Technology Satellite-2 (STSAT-2) that will be sent into orbit on board the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) will carry the latest sensor arrays to collect data about the earth's radiation energy and precisely check the altitude of the satellites orbit.

Work on the STSAT-2 began in October 2002 at a cost of 13.6 billion won (US$11 million) with Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology taking part in the construction. The satellite was assembled in 2006 with tests conducted every six months to ensure full operational capabilities after launch.

The unit uses solar panels to generate 160 watts of electricity and has an operational life cycle of two years.

"The satellite's main mission calls for the use of microwave radiometers to check energy levels in the atmosphere, and Earth's natural radiation, while at the same time utilizing a ranging laser to measure the precise distance between STSAT-2 and ground stations on earth," a KAIST researcher said.

He added that by building the small STSAT-2, South Korea has acquired important technologies like high-precision altitude determination and control capabilities that are needed to make larger, hi-tech satellites down the road. Since there are no available parts for satellites, local engineers had to custom-make each component.

Experts have said that while space exploration has been criticized as having a low return on investments, satellites are high value-added machines.

A one-ton communications satellite has a price tag of $8.74 million compared to $1.76 million for an aircraft engine weighing a ton, while the average cost of a vehicle weighing a ton stands at $30,000.

KARI, which has overall responsibility for the KSLV-1 and STSAT-2, said first communication will take place about 13 hours after the launch with the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado being asked to find the exact orbit two to three days after the satellite has been sent into space.

In the case of contact failure, authorities said they will use an emergency beacon to determine if the satellite's systems are functioning, with signals being sent up to make contact before the on-board battery fails.

Daejeon-based KARI, meanwhile, said that after sending up its first satellite into orbit on Aug. 11, 1992, the country has so far built a total of four scientific, four communications and two multipurpose satellites.

Of the total, two communications satellites are operational along with one Arirang multipurpose satellite that is equipped with high resolution cameras.

For this year, Seoul plans to orbit the Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite, while two multipurpose satellites and the STSAT-3 are planned for the next few years.

Local experts, meanwhile, said that South Korea's research and development capabilities in satellites stood at 65-70 percent levels compared to leading North American and European countries. They added, however, that in some hardware areas like structural construction, South Korea has reached world class levels.

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