South Korea successfully launches satellite into orbit

South Korea successfully launches satellite into orbitSouth Korea has joined the elite club of nations with capabilities to launch satellites with the launch of a satellite into orbit on Wednesday.

The Asian country launched satellite into orbit for the first time less than two months after its northern rival North Korea, launched its own satellite. The country developed the 140-ton, 108-feet tall Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, or KSLV-1 with the help of Russian space technology.

In South Korea's neighbourhood, both China and Japan have their own successful space programmes. The country looked to develop capabilities in space technologies after North Korean successfully placed a rocket into orbit in December in 2011.

Officials in South Korea reportedly studied the debris of a North Korean rocket that fell into the South Korean waters and determined that the equipment was built locally even as the communist and isolated country has a much smaller economy.

South Korean television stations were showing live broadcast of the countdown as the two-stage rocket was launched from the newly built Naro Space Center in Goheung, located about 200 miles south of the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Lee Ju-ho, the government's minister of education, science and technology said in a event on national television that, "After analyzing the data, we determined that our satellite entered its intended orbit. Today, we took a leap toward becoming a power in space technology. This is a success for all the people."