The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning is opening a new research center for the development of the country’s first domestically produced space rocket this week.

Located at the state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute in Daejeon, the center will conduct cooperative research with related industries to design and develop a 75-ton thrust rocket engine. The opening ceremony is scheduled for Monday, the ministry said.

Korea is pushing to develop its own three-stage space rocket, the KSLV-2, by 2021 with a budget of 1.5 trillion won ($1.4 billion).

(596story@heraldcorp.com)