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, planned to be launched into space in 2020. The rocket consists of 3 stages and every stage will use the rocket engine that is indigenously developed by South Korea. The 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 of payload into 700km LEO(Low Earth Orbit) and 2.6 tons of payload into 300km LEO.

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 is designed to be reused, just like the Merlin 1D engine. This engine can be reused after being recovered, which lowers costs and improves efficiency of the launch program.

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 planned to be used in South Korea's Moon exploration mission to send orbiters and landers to the moon. KSLV-2 will be 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