"China Copying US and Russia, Not in a Position to Criticize Korea's Independent Development" [Reading Science]

Achievements of 'Nuriho' Seen Through the Dark History of Global Space Launch Vehicle Development
Criticism of Nuriho Launch: China Achieved Early Success by Transferring Technology from Other Countries

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] On the 21st, South Korea's space launch vehicle 'Nuriho' was launched for the first time. It safely reached the target altitude of 700km, but the third stage engine shut down earlier than planned, preventing the satellite mock-up from being placed into orbit. There has been much debate over whether it was a success or failure, but from a technical standpoint, it is considered a success. The biggest point of interest, the clustering of four 75-ton engines in the first stage, operated normally, and the separation of each stage and fairing separation were properly executed. The vehicle's attitude control and directional control were also precisely as designed. After the launch, Koo Jung-hwan, head of the Launch Vehicle Development Division at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, said, "Everything matched perfectly. It's unfortunate that the burn time of the third stage engine was short, so it couldn't enter orbit," but added, "We will easily find the cause and fix it. We will soon show perfect results in the second launch," expressing confidence.

Other scientists shared similar evaluations. Kwon Se-jin, director of the Satellite Center at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), said, "I consider it a success. (In the first launch) maybe the target (satellite mock-up orbit insertion) was set too high. Technically, this is a success." Apart from some countries like China, the global community has given high praise for Nuriho's launch achievements. The consensus is that "South Korea has successfully taken the first step in securing independent satellite launch vehicle technology." Let's look at Nuriho's achievements in the context of the history of global space launch vehicles.

◆ China Copied the US and Russia

China has harshly criticized Nuriho's technology as inferior to what they developed in the 1970s. Is that really the case? In short, China, which succeeded in a 'crash course' by copying US technology and receiving Russian technology transfers, cannot criticize South Korea, which started from scratch without any help and succeeded in securing independent technology. China succeeded in launching a satellite with the Changzheng-1 rocket in 1970. Recently, they have developed a super-large engine with 500 tons of thrust and announced plans to build the monster-class space launch vehicle 'Changzheng-5' for deep space exploration.

However, China was simply earlier because it copied US technology and received Russian technology transfers. China's rocket technology development was led by Dr. Qian Xuesen, a rocket scientist who returned to China in 1955 after being almost expelled from the US. He was the son of a high-ranking Kuomintang official, studied at Caltech in California, and researched Germany's V2 rocket technology. However, caught in the McCarthyism frenzy and facing a precarious position, he chose to return to China voluntarily or involuntarily. This effectively handed over advanced US rocket technology and know-how to China. In management studies, this is considered a prime example of 'talent management failure.' Despite strong opposition from US intelligence agencies, who said "Qian Xuesen is more dangerous than five army corps," secret negotiations by then Chinese Vice Premier Zhou Enlai succeeded.

After returning, Dr. Qian received Russian technology and developed China's medium-range ballistic missiles Dongfeng-1 and Dongfeng-2, and led the development of Changzheng-1 and satellite launches. Without the technology transfers from the US and Russia, it would have been impossible for a backward agricultural country devastated by World War II and the Cultural Revolution to develop space launch vehicles in the 1970s. China was forced to invest national efforts in developing nuclear weapons and long-range delivery systems (ICBMs) to survive between the US and Russia. Moreover, unlike the almost immediately successful Nuriho, Changzheng-1 was unreliable, succeeding only twice in four launches. Its first launch in November 1969 lasted only 69 seconds before the second stage failed to separate, causing it to crash.

◆ Success Comes After a 'Hard March'

Other countries also went through a 'hard road' in their space launch vehicle development. Japan developed the solid-fuel Lambda rocket in 1970 and succeeded in satellite launches, but faced difficulties, succeeding only on the fifth attempt after four failures. Especially, when trying to develop liquid-fuel rockets to launch practical medium-to-large satellites, they struggled and received Delta rocket technology from the US, developing the N-1 rocket in 1975. However, one of seven launches failed, and to compensate, Japan developed the H-2 rocket with independent technology but suffered setbacks such as engine fires caused by poor soldering and engine shutdowns due to turbo pump failures, causing crashes into the sea. Since 1999, Japan has been focusing on developing new launch vehicles.

The US, the pioneer and leader in space development technology, had similar experiences. The 'Vanguard rocket,' developed under the US Navy from 1955, succeeded only three times in eleven launches and was eventually scrapped. Its first launch saw the engine shut down two seconds after ignition, and the second exploded 57 seconds after launch. The US's first successful space launch vehicle, Juno 1, succeeded only four times in ten launches and failed six times. Not only that, SpaceX, a private company with top technology including reusable rockets, succeeded only on the fourth attempt after three failures during Falcon 9 development. At that time, Elon Musk was reportedly on the brink of bankruptcy with funds left for only one last launch.

For reference, China has about 300,000 space development personnel, SpaceX has about 5,000 employees, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has over 10,000 employees, and NASA spends around $20 billion annually with about 20,000 employees. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute has fewer than 1,000 employees even when combining all aviation sectors.