Nuri, South Korea's indigenous space launch vehicle, was transported to the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, on the morning of Oct. 6, one day ahead of its planned fifth launch on the 7th. The final launch time will be set on the morning of the 7th depending on weather and technical checks.

The Korea AeroSpace Administration earlier confirmed Oct. 7 as the launch date. The planned window runs from 12:23 p.m. to 1:23 p.m., chosen with the mission orbit of microsatellites for national security and disaster monitoring in mind. Unlike the fourth launch, which took place before dawn, this one will be visible in broad daylight.

Fifteen satellites and a first cluster deployment

The defining feature of this flight is its payload count. Nuri will carry 15 satellites, the most ever, and attempt Korea's first deployment of a satellite cluster, placing several microsatellites one after another into the same orbit. Separating the satellites safely in sequence is seen as the key to success.

Final assembly work, including stage integration and installation of pyrotechnics, has continued at the Naro Space Center, and performance checks of the pad and tracking systems have been completed. The flight comes about 11 months after the fourth launch.

Backup window Oct. 8-14; an 80% success rate in sight

A backup window from Oct. 8 to 14 has been set in case of bad weather or technical issues. A successful flight would take Nuri toward a cumulative success rate of 80%. The government plans to use repeated Nuri launches to transfer launch technology to the private sector and cement Korea's independent launch capability.

The space industry sees the launch as the first step toward a microsatellite system for national security. The ability to put many satellites up at once directly lowers deployment costs and shortens revisit times for observation.