SKorea says rocket carrying observation satellite believed to have exploded in flight

SKorea says rocket believed to have exploded

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says a rocket that it sent into space Thursday carrying an observation satellite is believed to have exploded in flight.

Minister of Education, Science and Technology Ahn Byong-man says officials believe the two-stage Naro rocket operated normally for 137 seconds after liftoff from the country’s space center. But then communications with the rocket were lost.

He says: “We believe that the Naro rocket exploded.”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea launched a rocket carrying a satellite meant to study climate change Thursday, but the mission was immediately thrown into doubt when authorities lost communications with the craft.

The rocket was launched after a one-day delay due to malfunctioning firefighting equipment near the launchpad at the coastal Naro space center in Goheung, 290 miles (465 kilometers) south of Seoul.

The rocket lifted off successfully Thursday, loaded with an observation satellite for studying global warming and climate change, but aerospace officials lost contact with the rocket 137 seconds later, the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute said.

It was not immediately clear whether all chance of contact with the satellite was lost or if communications could be restored later.

“We will seek ways to find the satellite,” Lee Joo-jin, head of the space agency told reporters, without elaborating.

The blastoff at the coastal Naro space center in Goheung, 290 miles (465 kilometers) south of Seoul, was the country’s second launch of a rocket from its own territory. In the first attempt last August, the satellite failed to go into orbit because one of its two covers apparently failed to come off after liftoff.

Since 1992, South Korea has launched 11 satellites from overseas sites, all on foreign-made rockets.

The first stage of the two-stage Naro rocket was designed and built by Russia and the second by South Korea.

South Korea’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which oversees the space program, says South Korea plans to develop a space launch vehicle with its own technology by 2020.

China, Japan and India are Asia’s current space powers. Japan has launched numerous satellites while China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003 and carried out its first spacewalk in 2008.

India launched a satellite into moon orbit in 2008, but had to abandon it nearly a year later after communication links snapped and scientists lost control of it.