Ⓒ JoongAng Ilbo / JoongAng Ilbo Japanese version2022.01.18 15:11
On the morning of the 29th of last month, when the sunset was approaching, a strong wind of over 11 meters per second was blowing on the coast of Yongsu-ri, the westernmost point of Jeju Island. A fishing village running a small farm in a small breakwater was flooded with people from outside. A stage was set up in front of a noodle restaurant with a 7-meter-long and 4-meter-wide liquid crystal display (LED) in the background, and more than 30 gray plastic chairs were prepared. “KAIST (Korea Institute of Science and Technology) 50th Anniversary Private Science Rocket Test Launch Event” has started. It is the day to launch the scientific rocket “Blue Whale 0.1” jointly produced by KAIST and the space rocket startup “Perige Aerospace” founded by Shin Dong-yun (25), a fourth-year student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, KAIST. ..
The acting governor of Jeju and the chairman of the provincial council gave congratulatory speeches along with the introduction of the moderator who was in charge of the event. 11:53 am. Following the chairman, a congratulatory address by Vice-President KAIST was scheduled, but the moderator interrupted the progress of the event and entered the countdown. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, launch”. A small liquid rocket with a total length of 3.2 meters, a diameter of 19 cm, and a weight of 51 kg floated softly from a launch site prepared on a breakwater with a width of 3 meters on a beach regarding 300 meters away from the event site. Five researchers from Perigi Aerospace began to follow the trajectory of the rocket on a monitor in the control room temporarily prepared in the ama waiting room 100 meters away from the breakwater (launch site).
“Wow!” The cheers of the people who attended the event were also brief. When a rocket launched regarding 20 meters suddenly turned 90 degrees, it flew regarding 1 km parallel to the surface of the water and fell into the sea. The flight time is only 5 seconds. It was a launch failure. Initially, Blue Whale 0.1 was planned to launch at least 5 kilometers above.
◆ Test launch that had a high possibility of failure from the beginning
Representative Shin Dong-yun went up to the stage with a plain expression, saying, “Today’s rocket launch did not fly as expected. At the moment of launch, a gust of wind suddenly blew, and the rocket tilted in the direction of the wind and left the route. The built-in automatic flight termination system stopped the engine and landed it in the sea. “
Why mightn’t a company developing a space rocket launch a single scientific rocket that flies below the altitude of a passenger plane? In fact, the launch of the day proceeded under the worst conditions. It was likely to fail from the beginning.
The first is wind and VIP. According to the Jeju Meteorological Agency, the average daily wind speed around Longsui-ri on December 29 was 12.5 meters per second, which was much stronger than the average December wind speed (4.6 meters per second) on Jeju Island. Ryusui-ri on the 29th of last month was a particularly windy day even in Jeju, where there is a lot of wind. The Perigi Aerospace side worried the day before that “the wind is strong and the launch may be postponed.”
However, Perigi Aerospace explained that it was difficult to postpone the launch because it was part of the 50th anniversary of KAIST and even high-ranking officials from Jeju Island and KAIST were present.
[Column]Three reasons why “KAIST 50th Anniversary Rocket” failed = Korea (2)
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