Korean Rocket Failed Due to Fairing Problem

Naro failure attributed to fairing problems
Korean Herald

An independent panel — tasked with finding the cause of the partial failure of Korea’s first rocket launch — confirmed yesterday that problems in the nose-fairing caused the satellite to veer off course.

Based on its analysis of the data collected during the liftoff and flight of the two-stage rocket, the panel said one of the two fairings failed to separate, which prevented the satellite from gaining sufficient velocity to reach the intended orbit.

Other parts, such as engines, functioned normally and the separation of the satellite proceeded properly after the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, or Naro, blasted off on Aug. 25 in the Naro Space Center in South Jeolla Province, the panel said.

The fairing set was attached to the second-stage rocket of the KSLV-1 to cover and protect a 100-kilogram experimental satellite.

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