Type Governmental Province South Jeolla Province Jurisdiction Government of South Korea | Employees 829 (2011) Phone +82 61-830-8000 | |
Formed June 11, 2009 (2009-06-11) Headquarters Naro Space Center : Outer Naro Island, Goheung County, Jeollanam-do Annual budget ￦298 billion ≈ US$255 million (2011) Agency executives Seung Jo Kim (김승조), director
Cheol Ho Lim (임철호), deputy director
Dong Hoon Chung (정동훈), chief auditor Address Haban-ro, Bongnae-myeon, Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do, South Korea Similar Nam‑Yeol, Singeum, Narodo Terminal, Balpo, 나로비치호텔 | ||
Naro Space Center is a South Korean spaceport in South Jeolla's Goheung County, operated by the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute.
The spaceport is located about 485 km (300 mi) south of Seoul. It includes a launch pad, a control tower, rocket assembly and test facilities, facilities for satellite control testing and assembly, a media center, an electric power station, a space experience hall and a landing field.
The first launch, initially planned for 19 August 2009, was performed on 25 August 2009 using a Russo-South Korean Naro-1 rocket, but failed to reach the desired orbit. Another rocket launch from Naro was planned for May 2010, but delays pushed the launch to June. On June 10, 2010, this second attempt also ended in failure when the rocket lost communications 137 seconds after launch. The South Korean science minister Ahn Byung-man later told reporters that the rocket was believed to have exploded. A third attempt was made and finally succeeded in putting a satellite into orbit.