Nuri rocket launches into space at 12:25 p.m. Wednesday

South Korea's homegrown Nuri rocket lifted off Wednesday at 12:25 p.m. on its fifth mission to reach space.

The Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute convened the fifth Nuri launch management committee at 8 a.m. Wednesday, conducting a comprehensive review of the rocket's technical readiness, weather conditions, space environment and the risk of collision with other space objects. The committee decided to proceed with the 12:25 p.m. launch, with the primary goal of placing five ultra-small cluster satellites into their target orbit.

Nuri's mission is to deploy its five primary payloads — ultra-small cluster satellites Nos. 2 through 6 — into an orbit 570 kilometers above Earth, followed by the sequential release of 10 cube satellites.

The rocket began fueling and oxidizer loading procedures ahead of liftoff, with the erection device removed once preparations were complete. The launch switched to automatic operation mode 10 minutes before liftoff.

Two minutes and three seconds after liftoff, the first stage separated at an altitude of 67 kilometers. At three minutes and 53 seconds, the payload fairing separated at 224 kilometers. The second stage then separated at 277 kilometers four minutes and 28 seconds into flight, at which point the third-stage engine began operation.

Satellite separation began 13 minutes and 30 seconds into flight at an altitude of 575 kilometers, with the five primary ultra-small cluster satellites Nos. 2 through 6 released in sequence. The 10 cube satellites — the secondary payloads — were then ejected two at a time at 10-second intervals.

After completing satellite separation, Nuri performed an avoidance maneuver to prevent collision with the released satellites and vented its remaining fuel before concluding its flight 19 minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff.