The government said Sunday it will ask the general public to help it name South Korea's first indigenously launched space rocket.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said people can click onto its Web site (www.kslv.or.kr) from Monday through March 31 to file names that will best suit the rocket.
Seoul has spent a total of 502.5 billion won ($333.4 million) from 2002 on the building of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) that is expected to be launched in the latter half of the year. The country has built the Naro Space Center in southwest part of the country in preparation for the launch.
"The open contest could help boost hopes and highlight the aspirations of the people ahead of the historic launch," a ministry official said.
He said the name should reflect the image of the rocket and significance of the launch, as well as being simple and easy to remember.
The winner of the contest, to be announced on April 16, will receive a cash prize of 3 million won.
The two-stage rocket being built jointly by the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and Russia's space agency can send a 100 kilogram payload into low Earth orbit.
The rocket weighs 140 tons fully loaded with fuel and measures 33 meters in height with a diameter of 2.9 meters. The first-stage main booster, made by Russia, possess 170 tons of thrust while the second-stage rockets manufactured by KARI have seven tons of thrust capability.
The nose faring that will house a small locally-made satellite was also made in Korea.
[출처 : 코리아타임스]
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