Former President Moon: "Nuriho Success, A New History for South Korea... Now It's the Moon"[Nuriho Success]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] Former President Moon Jae-in expressed his congratulations on the successful second launch of the Korean launch vehicle Nuriho (KSLV-II) on the 21st, saying he was "proud."

In a post on Facebook that day, former President Moon said, "South Korea has written a new history. It has proven itself as the world's 7th space power."

He also praised the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the agency responsible for the launch, saying, "They have accomplished a great feat." He added, "Now, it's the Moon. Let's vigorously open South Korea's space era."

The government is advancing the Nuriho enhancement project, focusing on developing launch vehicle technology, with the goal of launching a lunar landing verification probe using next-generation launch vehicles by 2030 to confirm performance, followed by launching a lunar lander in 2031.

Previously, during former President Moon's tenure, the first test launch of Nuriho was conducted on October 21 of last year. At that time, Nuriho completed all flight procedures after liftoff, but the third-stage engine shut down earlier than expected, resulting in failure to place the mock satellite into the target orbit.

Former President Moon, who observed the launch, said, "It was a very excellent achievement, but placing the dummy satellite into orbit remains an unfinished task," and encouraged the research team by saying, "If the shortcomings from today are reviewed and supplemented, the second launch scheduled for May next year will surely be a complete success."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.