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An assembled qualification model of the Nuri arrives at the No. 2 launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, on Tuesday. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

South Korea’s homegrown space rocket Nuri is taking another step closer to its scheduled maiden flight in October.

The No. 2 launchpad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, which was recently completed for the Nuri, will go through a comprehensive series of ground tests for over a month starting Tuesday, according to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and the Ministry of Science and ICT.

An assembled qualification model of the Nuri leaves the Launch Vehicle Assembly Complex at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, on Tuesday. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

An assembled qualification model of the Nuri is pictured Tuesday in front of the Launch Vehicle Assembly Complex at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

All aspects of the launch pad were developed with South Korean technology, including its umbilical tower, which is used for fueling propellants, they said.

An assembled qualification model of the Nuri is being erected on the No. 2 launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, on Tuesday. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

The series of tests will run with an assembled qualification model of the Nuri erected on the launch pad. The tests will include fueling the rocket, separating the rocket from the launch pad and other procedures involved in executing the launch.

An assembled qualification model of the Nuri is being erected on the No.2 launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Jeolla Province, on Tuesday. (Kim Hye-yun/The Hankyoreh)

The model was assembled at the Launch Vehicle Assembly Complex at the Naro Space Center and was transported to the pad on Tuesday. The model being used is identical in size and function to the actual three-stage flight model that will be launched in October.

The science ministry said the flight model’s third stage has been assembled and is in storage for launch in October. The first and the second stages of the rocket are currently being built.

Kwon Hyun-june, large-scale public research policy coordinator for the science ministry, said, “Preparations for the launch will begin once the series of tests is completed.”

By Kim Hye-yun, staff photographer

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