KSLV-II - Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 - Early Plans
Initially, published and conjectural KSLV-II configurations all suffered from very small payload fractions. This was a result of the small Korean upper stages mounted on the large Russian lower stage[s]. In December 2008 development of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2, the first that was to be wholly Korean-made, was shelved after the import of Russian rocket technologies became impossible. Development had been expected to begin immediately after the launch of KSLV-1. The government planned to stop the budget for the KSLV-2 in 2009 and decided to conduct a fresh feasibility study after a preliminary feasibility study earlier in 2008 by the Strategy and Finance Ministry concluded there were problems getting hold of technologies. The KSLV-2 was to be the first wholly Korean-made launch rocket. In 2007, the government announced an ambitious space development program, including a satellite with a Korean-made launch vehicle by 2017 and a lunar probe by 2025. Development of the KSLV-2 was premised on the wholesale transfer of first-stage rocket technologies from Russia. But a complete revision became inevitable as Russia refused to transfer technologies, citing the Technology Safeguard Agreement.
2002 - KSLV-II - Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2
Initially, the KSLV-II South Korean launch vehicle was scheduled for first flight by 2010, consisting of a Russian Angara first stage and a South Korean liquid-propellant second stage. The KSLV-III South Korean launch vehicle, to consist of a Russian Angara first stage, a South Korean liquid propellant second stage, and a South Korean solid propellant apogee kick motor. Scheduled for first flight was by 2015.
Russia had agreed with South Korea to jointly develop a liquid-propellant rocket engine, a key component for KSLV-I. But Russia refused to transfer the technology for reasons of security regulations in the technological protection agreement. The booster was to have been launched in 2005, but that was then postponed until late in 2008. The launch of the KSLV-II was also postponed from 2010 until 2017, depending on Korea's own development schedule. This meant the Naro Space Center would be closed after the scheduled launch of the KSLV-I at the end of 2008 until 2017.
In 2002 KARI and the Ministry of Science and Technology planned the first space flight of launch vehicle KSLV-1, to put into orbit a satellite weighing 100 kg. At that time it was appointed that starting in 2005 more powerful rockets KSLV-2 (PG, weight 1000 kg; 2010) and KSLV-3 (1500 kg, 2015 g) would be created on the basis of KSLV-1. In development was already under way of a version sub orbital rocket KSR-3 with two hinged liquid motors based on the first stage. Hyundai Space was an industrial partner for KARI's rocket program. By 2010, South Korea planned to create a low-orbt commercial satellite, and in 2015 - enter the top ten in the world of aerospace.
2006 - KSLV-II / KSLV-III - Korea Space Launch Vehicle-3
Initially the KSLV-II was to have consisted of a Russian Angara first stage and a South Korean liquid-propellant second stage. In August 2006 it was reported in the Korean press that this configuration had been cancelled. At that time, the Korean press reported that the KSLV-III first and second stages would both be Angara-UM modules, with RD-151 engines. The configuration was never entirely clear, but was probably side-by-side rather than stacked.
2007 - KSLV-II - Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2
On 20 November 2007 the government of Korea announced plans to launch a lunar probe using an indigenous rocket in 2020. The road map called for a step-by-step development plan so the country can become fully independent in the building of boosters and the unmanned probe, the Ministry of Science and Technology said. It said scientists and engineers will build and test a 300-ton Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-II) booster by 2017, and that the "standard bus module" technology needed to make the probe would be be acquired by 2016. The rocket was expected to have four engines propelled by 75 tons of liquid fuel in the first stage, and another booster in the second stage.
On 20 November 2007, the Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) said that it plans to develop a powerful two-stage rocket by 2017 to send a satellite to the moon. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, ROK plans to build and test a 300-ton Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 (KSLV-II) booster rocket and launch its first lunar exploration satellite in 2020. If the plan was successful, ROK will launch a lunar probe in 2025. The KSLV-II was expected to be a larger and more advanced model of the 170-ton KSLV-I set to be launched in late 2008. The rocket was expected to have a total of five 75-ton thrust engines.
South Korean government said in April 2008 that it planned to develop a powerful two-stage rocket by 2017 to send a satellite to the moon. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, South Korea planned to build and test a 200-ton KSLV-II booster rocket and launch its first lunar exploration satellite in 2020.
On 22 August 2008 it was reported that Russia and South Korea had agreed to jointly develop a new launch vehicle KSLV-2, which will have two Russian liquid engines. Anatoly Frolov, director of foreign economic activity of the Scientific-Production Association (NGO) Energomash said "Negotiations have been successfully Roskosmos, the Russian government has approved the idea of cooperation in the field of engine. One of these days we are expecting concrete proposals from the Korean side." According to Frolov, the new rocket KSLV-2 would be two or three stages. For the first stage Energomash will supply the engine with a thrust of 80 tons, similar to RD-107. The R-7 used an RD-107 rocket engine in each strap-on booster. The KSLV 2 could have four 75-ton first-stage engines, a single engine of the same rating in the second stage and a probable low-orbit payload of 1.5 tons. If the Korean side expressed its desire to use a Russian engine for the second stage, the NPO was ready to provide an engine with a thrust of about 30 tons. Testing was to begin in 2017.
The exact configuration of the 200-ton KSLV-2 booster was unclear, but it was apparently proposed to be derived from the 300-ton SL-4 Soyuz booster. The 1/3 reduction in liftoff mass could be accomplished by truncating the strap-on and core stage tanks, with a corresponding reduction in propellant loading. More than 1,500 launches have been made with Soyuz launchers to orbit satellites for telecommunications, Earth observation, weather and scientific missions, as well as for human flights. The four boosters of the first stage are assembled laterally around the second stage central core. The boosters are identical and cylindrical-conic in shape. An NPO Energomash RD 107 engine with four main chambers and two gimbaled vernier thrusters was used in each booster. The vernier thrusters provide three-axis flight control. Ignition of the first stage boosters and the second stage central core occur simultaneously on the ground. An NPO Energomash RD 108 engine powers the Soyuz second stage. This engine differs from those of the boosters by the presence of four vernier thrusters. A single-turbo pump RD 0110 engine from KB KhA powers the Soyuz third stage with a thrust of 30.39 tons.
In 2006 a fuel pump and turbine rotor-dynamic design had been performed in Korea for a 75 ton thrust liquid rocket engine. A distance from the rear bearing to the turbine was considered as a design parameter for load distribution of the bearings. Asynchronous eigenvalue analysis was performed as a function of rotating speeds, turbine mass and bearing stiffness to investigate critical speed of the fuel pump and turbine. From the numerical analysis, it was found that the effect of the front bearing stiffness was negligible in the critical speed due to the large mass moment of inertia of the turbine. With the rear bearing stiffness over 2,108 N/m and the turbine mass below 20 kg, the critical speed of the fuel pump and turbine in long shaft case was at least 70% higher than the operating speed 11,000 rpm.
If the KSLV-1 was launched as scheduled, Korea planned to start development of the KSLV-2 that was to be built exclusively with its own technology. The real test would be 2017 when Korea will be attempting to send a real-purpose satellite with a fully domestically developed rocket. KSLV 2 was the launcher earmarked for the spacecraft that South Korea proposes to send to the moon by 2020. A lunar lander was supposed to follow in 2025.
More recent design study information released on the KSLV-II configuration calls for a 1.5 metric tonnes payload capacity to low earth orbit. The launch vehicle was to be three stages with four engines in the first stage that produce 75 to 80 metric tonnes force thrust each. It will essentially be developed from home made rocket developed technology as demanded by South Korean Science and Technology policy.
