Nuri's 5th Launch Successfully Places 15 Satellites into Orbit… Achieves First-Ever On-Time Liftoff

South Korea's space launch vehicle Nuri has successfully completed its mission by reaching the target altitude of 575 km and successfully deploying all 15 payloads into orbit.

Nuri lifted off at 12:25 PM on the 7th from Launch Pad 2 at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, Jeollanam-do. At 810 seconds after launch, at an altitude of 575 km, it separated the main payload, the Small Satellite Cluster #2. Subsequently, for 150 seconds, rotating 45 degrees at intervals of 35 to 40 seconds, it sequentially placed five Small Satellite Clusters into orbit. Starting from 995 seconds after launch, beginning with the Cosmoworks and Chosun University cubesats, it deployed 10 cubesats in five separate releases until 1035 seconds. Daejeonsat was ejected fifth alongside the Spacelintech cubesat, heading toward its operational orbit.

The flight sequence unfolded without a single error. Igniting its engines two seconds before launch, Nuri left the launch pad right on schedule. 123 seconds after launch, at an altitude of 67 km (a ground distance of 396 km), it separated the first stage and ignited the second-stage engine. At 233 seconds (altitude 224 km), it separated the fairing, and at 268 seconds (altitude 277 km), it separated the second stage. The third-stage engine cut off combustion immediately after reaching the target altitude of 575 km.

After completing the ejection of all 15 satellites, Nuri performed an avoidance maneuver to prevent collisions with the satellites. Having discharged its remaining propellant, the launch vehicle concluded its 19-minute and 45-second flight. It will subsequently orbit the Earth before being pulled back by gravity to re-enter the atmosphere and disintegrate.

Oh Tae-seok, Administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), stated during a flight status briefing at 1 PM that day, "Nuri reached the target orbit in accordance with the flight procedures. This is the first time that Nuri has been launched precisely at the scheduled launch time."

Administrator Oh added, "The goal of this Nuri launch was to safely place five cluster satellites into the target orbit using a new maneuvering method according to plan. Currently, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute is verifying telemetry data from the satellites through the Naro Space Center and tracking stations in Jeju and Palau. We will hold an additional briefing around 2 PM regarding the status of data verification."