South Korea successfully launches rocket

Seoul, Jan 30 (IANS) South Korea Wednesday successfully launched a rocket in its third attempt to put a satellite into space.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSVL-1), also known as Naro, blasted off at 4 p.m. from the Naro Space Center, 480 km south of Seoul, Xinhua reported.

The rocket, with a Russian-built first stage and a South Korean-developed second stage, later reached its target altitude and deployed its payload satellite.

The launch marked the country’s third attempt to put a satellite into space from its own soil.

Two previous attempts in 2009 and 2010 failed due to technical problems.