▲ Science Ministry and Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced the cause of failure of Nuri rocket

On December 29th, Science Ministry and Korea Aerospace Research Institute announced the cause of failure of Nuri rocket through briefing.

▲ Nuri rocket launched in NARO Space Center

On October 21st in 2021, Nuri rocket, a Korean projectile launched in NARO Space Center, was not successfully fired. In order to find the cause of failure, the seventh internal meeting of the committee, consisting of experts and researchers who inquired into the cause of Nuri Rokcet's failure, was held. The committee eventually found the abnormal phenomenon based on telemetry data and determined the cause of failure: loosening of helium tank.

▲ The cause of failure: loosening of helium tank

In the earlier examination stage of Nuri rocket's failure, researchers determined the third stage of the oxidizer tank turned off earlier than expected. The committee determined that it is because they did not consider the degree of buoyancy sufficiently. As buoyancy exerted to helium tank increased during flight, helium tank installed in oxidizer tank broke away from a fixture. The release of the helium tank caused the modification of tank piping and leakage of helium and oxidizer. Due to the process, as the amount of oxidizer that is brought into the third-stage engine reduced, Nuri rocket turned off earlier.

Science Ministry and Korea Aerospace Research Institute prepare the solution to the defect of Nuri rocket. The solution will focus on strengthening the structure of the fixture of helium tank and oxidizer tank. Also, the second launch of Nuri rocket which was originally scheduled for May in 2022 is expected to be delayed. According to Director General Kwon Hyeon-jun, the work schedule to fix Nuri rocket's defect was not planned, so the second launch of Nuri rocket will progress in the second half of the year 2022.

January 9th, 2022, by Kwak Chae Hyeon