South Korea

Aerospace engineering

Aerospace engineeringMain article: A replica of the

South Korea has sent up 10 satellites from 1992, all using foreign rockets and overseas launch pads, notably in 1999, and in 2006 as part of its space partnership with Russia. Arirang-1 was lost in space in 2008, after nine years in service.

In April 2008, became the first Korean to fly in space, aboard the Russian .

In June 2009, the first of South Korea, , was completed at , . The launch of in August 2009 resulted in a failure. The second attempt in June 2010 was also unsuccessful. However the third launch of the Naro 1 in January 2013 was successful. The government plans to develop Naro-2 by the year 2018.

South Korea's efforts to build an indigenous space launch vehicle is marred because of persistent political pressure of the United States, who had for many decades hindered South Korea's indigenous rocket and missile development programs in fear of their possible connection to clandestine military ballistic missile programs, which Korea many times insisted did not violate the guidelines stipulated by US-Korea agreements on restriction of South Korean rocket technology research and development. South Korea has sought the assistance of foreign countries such as through commitments to supplement its restricted domestic rocket technology. The two failed KSLV-I were based on the , the first stage of the Russian , combined with a solid-fueled second stage built by South Korea.