South Korea’s Nuri rocket has completed assembly for its fifth flight, which is scheduled for October 7 with a record 15 satellites aboard. If preparations proceed as planned, the launch will take place between 12:23 p.m. and 1:23 p.m. The precise time will be selected on launch day after officials review weather conditions and potential collision risks involving objects in space.
Engineers completed the vehicle by joining the third stage and its satellite payload section to the already assembled first and second stages. A protective fairing was also installed around the payloads. Nuri’s basic design and structure remain the same as in its previous four flights, but the payload arrangement was redesigned to accommodate a more complex deployment mission.
- Planned launch date
- October 7, 2026
- Launch window
- 12:23 p.m. to 1:23 p.m.
- Payload
- Five NeonSat spacecraft and 10 CubeSats
- Launch site
- Naro Space Center in Goheung
The fully assembled rocket is scheduled to leave its assembly building at 6:10 a.m. on October 6 and travel to the launch pad at the Naro Space Center in Goheung. It is expected to be raised vertically at about 10:10 a.m. Umbilical connections will then provide the vehicle with fuel, oxidizer and electricity while teams conduct electrical and propulsion system checks and prepare for propellant loading.
A more complex satellite deployment
At the top of the payload section are five NeonSat spacecraft, the mission’s primary payloads. Ten CubeSats are mounted below them on both sides of the newly configured section. This will be Nuri’s first flight carrying multiple primary satellites and the largest number of satellites launched aboard the vehicle at one time.
The NeonSat spacecraft are intended to orbit as a group and use optical cameras to observe the Korean Peninsula. The flight must place all 15 spacecraft into their intended orbit, making the sequence more demanding than a mission carrying a single primary satellite. Successful deployment would provide another test of Nuri’s ability to operate as a space transportation system.
Hanwha Aerospace served as the system integration company overseeing production, continuing the role it held for Nuri’s fourth launch. The immediate milestones are the transfer to the pad, vertical erection, connection of ground systems and final checks. The launch management committee’s decision on the exact liftoff time remains the final point to watch before flight.