KSLV-2
KSLV-2 is South Korea's second carrier rocket and the successor of KSLV-1. This 3-stage rocket is entirely developed by South Korea, set to be launched into space in 2020. It will be developed in 3 stages and every stages will use the rocket engine that is indigenously developed by South Korea. South Korean government is setting SpaceX as a role model, especially in making cheaper and reliable rockets for commercial launch service. It can launch 1.5 ton into 700km LEO(Sun Synchronous Orbit) and 2.6 ton into 300km LEO. [1]
Specification
KSLV-2 uses the KARI 75 ton force engine and KARI 7 ton force engine. All those engines use rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) as its fuel and liquid oxygen(LOX) as its oxidizer. The first stage uses four 75 ton force engines, generating nearly 300t of thrust. Second stage uses one 75 ton force engine, which uses a wider nozzle for efficiency in vacuum. Third stage uses one 7 ton force engine. The 75 ton force engine's specific impulse is 298.1s, the vacuum nozzle specific impulse is 315.4s. The 7 ton force engine's specific impulse is 325.1s. Further improvements will be added after the success of KSLV-2 program, such as replacing the current engine configurations into 85 or 95 ton force and increasing specific impulse. The 75 ton force engine has reusable feature just like Merlin 1d engine and this engine can be reused after being recovered.
Usage
KSLV-2 will be used in launching several Earth observing satellites, such as KOMPSAT, medium-class satellites and LEO reconnaissance satellites. KSLV-2 is be used in South Korea's Moon exploration mission to send orbiters and landers to the moon. KSLV-2 will be the South Korea's first rocket to enter the launch vehicle service market. KSLV-2's launch cost will be approximately $30 million, offering cheap launch service for South-East Asian countries.
See also
- KSLV-I
- Naro Space Center
- Falcon 9 (uses engine clustering, similar to KSLV-2)
- http://kari.re.kr/eng.do
References
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