South Korea To Launch First Space Rocket On Wednesday

On Wednesday South Korea will become one of only ten nations in the world that has successfully put a satellite into orbit. While South Korea has sent 10 satellites into space before, they have never done so before with their own launch vehicle but this will change on Wednesday.

In the late afternoon on Wednesday South Korea officials will launch their 'Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1' into space. On board the launch vehicle will be a 220lbs South Korean-built research satellite.

Launch Vehicle 1 has been in production since 2002 and South Korea has spent nearly $500 million USD on the project. The first stage of the 108 foot rocket was built by Russia and the second stage was built by local engineers in South Korea.

In addition to South Korea becoming the 10th nation to successfully launch a satellite into orbit, the nation announced plans in 2007 that they had over launching a lunar orbiter by 2020 and sending a probe to the moon by 2025.

It's clear that other nations are developing means to reach space and beyond. It's great for their nations and for man-kind altogether as we will learn more about what's out there and better ways to getting "there" the more nations and minds involved.