[Gone Chasing the Wild Hare and Lost the Farm Rabbit Too… 5th Nuri Launch Ends in a Fireworks Display!]
[5th Nuri Launch Vehicle Explodes During Barge Re-Landing Process]
[Only 13 Seconds After First-Stage Separation… KARI: “Debris Believed to Have Caused Payload to Deviate from Orbit”]
[Opposition Party Leadership Begins Hunger Strike Today]
[Representative Jang: “The Blue House’s Reckless Interference Led to a 500 Billion Won Firework Show!” Declares Indefinite Hunger Strike Until Those Responsible Are Punished!]
[Floor Leader Song: “Had We Used the Kerosene Engine as Before, This Tragedy Would Not Have Happened; Many Citizens Have Fallen into Despair Over the Nuri Failure!”]
The day after the launch.
Every media outlet in the Republic of Korea covered the news of the 5th Nuri’s demise as their headline.
It ended in failure. The launch vehicle, which had successfully separated in the first-stage orbit, spectacularly exploded approximately 13 seconds later, and the debris affected even the payload, ultimately causing the main vessel to deviate from orbit as well.
Had they simply used the kerosene engine that had been verified during the fourth launch, this tragedy would never have occurred. In attempting a new challenge, they had ruined even their primary objective… Truly, the worst possible failure had unfolded.
—Knock, knock. It’s Dr. Kim Seok-hoon.
“Come in.”
Dr. Kim, the very culprit behind all this failure, grasped the door handle with a face full of anguish.
He still couldn’t forget yesterday’s events. The moment first-stage separation succeeded, everyone had cheered, bouncing in their seats, but exactly 13 seconds later, the scene transformed into a living hell.
When the debris led to the payload’s orbital deviation, he couldn’t even bear to look his colleagues in the face. Because four years of effort had all come to naught over a single methane engine.
“You didn’t even eat breakfast? You look terribly haggard.”
It truly seemed to be a state of emergency.
When he entered, not only the KARI command staff but also the heads of the Space Administration, Ministry of Science and ICT, and private enterprises were all gathered in one place.
His sense of guilt multiplied tenfold.
“I’m sorry, Professor…”
Kim Seok-hoon bowed his head at a 90-degree angle to Professor Park, his undergraduate advisor and current director of KARI.
“I shouldn’t have done it when you said not to… In the end, my ambition ruined everything.”
“What’s this?”
“It’s my letter of resignation. I bear sole responsibility for this situation. Feeling deeply responsible, I will step down from my position. Once again, I apolo—”
“What nonsense is this? You’re supposed to be promoted to director.”
“…Excuse me?”
“The committee just reached a decision. Until the next 6th launch, we’d like you to play a bigger role as ‘Launch Vehicle Research Director.’”
The position of Launch Vehicle Research Director was at least two steps higher than team leader. It was a position where one could decide everything regarding the launch vehicle. It was a personnel measure completely unbefitting a defeated general.
“Wh-what do you mean…?”
He was dumbfounded, if only for a moment.
The Administrator of the Space Agency, sitting at the head of the table, asked with a hearty laugh.
“Director Park. You have quite the disciple. I hear the two of you have a teacher-student relationship?”
“Yes. Our Dr. Kim was famous as a troublemaker even as an undergraduate. Honestly, I knew he’d cause a big accident someday, but I didn’t know the scale would be this large. Haha.”
—Hahaha.
Contrary to Dr. Kim’s expectations, the atmosphere in the conference room was remarkably amicable.
Strange. Wasn’t today the funeral of the 5th Nuri?
“Personally, I was quite surprised as well. So our methane engine safely reached the first-stage orbit?”
“Yes. To be precise, it held on for a full 13 seconds after first-stage separation.”
“Was this technology we already had?”
“No. Since the 4th launch, we had continued internal development on the methane engine, but never once had there been a case of it safely reaching orbit.”
“Then that’s an amazing achievement. It reached orbit and held on for 13 more seconds.”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Personally, if it had held on for about 5 more seconds… if the explosion debris hadn’t affected the payload, I daresay the launch itself might have been a success, but things don’t go as one wishes.”
—Haha…
Everyone gathered in the room wore the same expression.
If only it had held on for 5 more seconds… would the results have changed?
“Then what was the cause of the explosion?”
“We’ll have to investigate the explosion debris, but it’s presumed to be one of two reasons.”
“What are they?”
“One is a malfunction of the detonation device, and the other is a system error in the re-landing process.”
“If it’s a detonation device malfunction, that means there’s no problem with the technology itself?”
“Yes. That’s the result we’re hoping for most at present. But if it was a system-level problem, the re-landing process will need to be redesigned. Still, we’ve overcome the mountain of orbital insertion, so it feels like we’ve cleared one major hurdle.”
“That’s a relief to hear. Then let’s talk again after the debris investigation.”
“Yes, thank you.”
With the meeting ending in an unexpected direction, Dr. Kim Seok-hoon found himself bewildered instead.
“Pr-Professor. What does this mean?”
“What, you’re not satisfied with director? Should we pin a department head badge on you too?”
“That’s not it—why am I being promoted…?”
“You succeeded in orbital insertion. You held on for a full 13 seconds even after first-stage separation.”
“But the explosion debris affected our payload, making the 5th launch a failure…”
“That’s why we’re telling you to succeed on the 6th. It clearly seemed like it would work—why didn’t it? Tsk-tsk—”
Leaving the flustered Dr. Kim behind, people laughed heartily and exited.
When only the two of them remained, Dr. Kim spoke in a firm tone.
“Professor, don’t do this and just give me a clear-cut disciplinary penalty!”
“What?”
“We failed. We changed the fully verified kerosene engine to methane and ruined the primary objective of the 5th launch. So please, just discipline me. I don’t want to be shielded just because I’m your student. This personnel action is embarrassing even before my colleagues.”
“Who said I was shielding you? Do you think you’re my only student at KARI? The entire team and director lines are all my students or juniors.”
“Then why…?”
“It’s an order from the Blue House. The objective of the 6th launch has been revised as well. Even if it fails, the reusable launch vehicle experiment—there’s no need to be so obsessed with payload weight anymore. See what you can do with the launch vehicle.”
“Professor…”
Professor Park laughed heartily as he left, then turned his head.
“Ah, and stop fussing about your colleagues. Yesterday’s senior staff meeting with all the directors—nothing but reusable launch vehicle talk came up for three hours straight.”
“R-really?”
“Yes, so there probably won’t be anyone opposing your appointment. Anyway, that’s all. I probably won’t be here until the 6th launch, but I’ll leave the rest in your capable hands.”
Professor Park smiled brightly.
“Director Kim.”
*
—Hey, they said the methane engine succeeded in orbital insertion? Does that even make sense?
—Right? And it held on for a whole 13 seconds after first-stage separation.
—If it had re-landed on the barge then, what would have happened?
—What do you think would happen—it’d be raking in the money! Right now, half the global contracts are outsourced to SpaceX.
—Wow, so our salaries would double? Hehe.
—Still, isn’t it too much for Team Leader Kim Seok-hoon to become a director? Why is the culprit of the failure getting promoted?
—Korea’s entire space plan has been revised, you know. It’s not about increasing payload anymore, but about reusable launch vehicle experiments. Dr. Kim is the nation’s top authority on launch vehicles, so it’s obvious.
—I think he’ll get a department head title soon too. If you want to get noticed, now’s the time to stand out. Hehe.
Sitting in the restroom stall, I couldn’t concentrate on my business at all due to the interesting conversation.
Two weeks ago, our ambitious 5th Nuri rocket had perished gloriously in the sky. Consequently, national media outlets ran obituaries and the opposition party staged a hunger strike, but the voices of condemnation didn’t last long.
Foreign media had paid attention to Korea, which had been outside the rankings, for succeeding with a methane engine for the first time—and in the first-stage orbit at that—and consequently, domestic public opinion was shifting as well.
‘13 seconds…’
Such a shame.
The debris investigation by KARI and the Space Administration concluded that it was a detonation device malfunction caused by system error. Originally, spacecraft and launch vehicles are equipped with detonation devices in advance in case of failure. Because a failed spacecraft is no different from a missile.
The result of KARI’s debris investigation: the launch vehicle had failed to recognize the barge during the re-landing process, and unable to confirm the landing point, it sent a signal to the detonation device to choose “destruction.”
Truly a shame. If this entire process had been delayed by about 30 seconds… if the payload had been in a safe orbit away from the debris, it would have been an incredible experiment.
“Hello, Team Leader. Ah, I suppose I should call you Director now? Haha.”
Dr. Kim Seok-hoon, whom I met again like this, replied to me with a troubled face.
“Not you too, Team Leader. I’m in a very awkward position these days.”
“Why? You’ve even been promoted.”
“That’s exactly why. Anyone can see I’m the culprit of the failure… Honestly, this position is burdensome for me too.”
“Come on. If not you, who would take on such a heavy role? From now on, all of Korea’s space experiments will focus on reusable launch vehicles!”
He quietly turned his eyes to me.
“It’s you, isn’t it, Team Leader?”
“Huh?”
“I’m talking about my promotion. I heard from the Director that the Blue House decided my entire appointment. No matter how I look at it, I don’t have connections that reach that high. It was you, wasn’t it?”
“What power do I have to wield such mighty personnel authority? Haha.”
“Then just who was it…?”
“It must have been the business owners. Those who want to make money through the space industry more than anyone. I think private companies have consistently raised the necessity of reusable launch vehicles with the Blue House.”
“R-really?”
It was a lie.
The moment Nuri exploded, I had immediately gone to Lee Chan-ho. Since we failed this time, I said I wanted to try one more time on the 6th…
Of course, it wasn’t solely due to my lobbying. When our methane engine vehicle successfully entered the first-stage orbit and even achieved separation, business owners had rushed to send petitions (?). Thanks to that, we were able to change Korea’s space blueprint as well.
“Anyway, this is all thanks to you, Team Leader. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have even been able to attempt the experiment; thanks to you, we’ve come this far.”
“Can we do better on the 6th?”
“Of course. I’ll definitely make it so. Yes, I’ll definitely do it, but… honestly, I’m a bit nervous. Is it because I suddenly went from team leader to director?”
I spoke to him, overwhelmed by tension.
“Doctor, you probably can’t do it just like that. You’ll need sufficient technology and manpower backing you up for there to be technological progress.”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about. There aren’t many space specialists in Korea…”
“Then I’d like to introduce you to a few people, if that’s all right?”
He asked with a bewildered face.
“Who?”