[COVER STORY] Nuri rocket successfully completes 5th flight

The Korea Times - Oct 7, 2026

Korea’s home-developed Nuri rocket successfully carried out its mission in its fifth launch Wednesday, sequentially deploying 14 out of 15 satellites it carried into their target orbit. The key objective of the fifth launch was to safely deploy the five microsatellite constellations, and the success has demonstrated Korea's increased multi-satellite launch capabilities, taking another step toward privately led commercial launch services. The rocket lifted off from the launchpad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, at 12:25 p.m. and completed its roughly 20-minute flight at around 12:45 p.m. The rocket separated its first stage about two minutes after liftoff, followed by the second stage about four and a half minutes into the flight. At around 12:40 p.m., it reached an altitude of 570 kilometers and completed the sequential deployment of five New-space Earth Observation Satellite Constellation for National Safety (NEONSAT) microsatellites (satellites No. 2 to 6), its primary payload, along with nine of the 10 CubeSats it carried. Initially, th

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