The Korean launch vehicle Nuri (KSLV-II) headed to the launchpad on the morning of the 25th ahead of its fourth launch. The Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) said they began transporting Nuri from the assembly building at the Naro Space Center to Launch Pad 2 at around 9 a.m. that day.
KARI held a launch preparation committee meeting at 8:30 a.m. and, considering the weather, decided to transport Nuri to the launchpad at 9 a.m.
Nuri is loaded onto an unmanned special transport vehicle called a "transporter" and moved for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. This is because it must move slowly at 1.5 km per hour along an inclined road to minimize even small shocks. After arriving at the launchpad, it will go through preparations to raise it upright, with erection to be completed in the morning. This work also takes less than an hour.
In the afternoon, the power supply lines will be connected to Nuri, followed by integration of the umbilical system and leak checks so fuel and oxidizer can be loaded. If no variables arise during the transport and erection process, installation work on the launchpad is expected to be wrapped up later in the day.
If all the scheduled work is not completed today, additional work in the morning tomorrow will be used to proceed with launch operations as planned.
The Nuri Launch Management Committee, which will make the final decision on whether to launch, will convene tomorrow afternoon. The committee plans to finalize the exact launch time after a comprehensive review of various factors, including whether to approve propellant loading, weather conditions, available launch windows, and the risk of collision with space objects.