No Mourning the Naro-1

I hope there’s no Naro-2. Really!

The fireball that was Naro-1 is more impressive than the thinking that went into it. One only has to think of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 or JAEA’s IKAROS, to see why failure is Seoul’s best option.

And, no one other than my South Korean wife pointed out why. It’s a Cold War relic. It does nothing more than what the US and the Soviet Union have done, and not any more impressively. The goal is to explore space and live in it – my opinion – not waste tax money – my wife’s gripe. The South Koreans could leapfrog the technological ladder, take the Japanese course by developing new vehicles, or develop completely new research platforms. Instead, a public agency – unlike SpaceX – has recreated the wheel for no other benefit than the chauvinistic pride of a few bureaucratic Korean fossils.

Good riddance, Naro-1!

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Filed under: Business/Economy, East Asia, Korea, Space, USA Tagged: Cold War, falcon 9, IKAROS, jaea, missiles, naro-1, rok, spacex