South Korea successfully test-fires Nuri rocket as it pursues space ambitions

South Korea’s Nuri rocket successfully takes off (Korea Pool/Yonhap via AP)

South Korea test launched its first domestically produced space rocket on Thursday in what officials describe as an important step in the country’s pursuit of a satellite launch programme.

It was not immediately clear whether the three-stage Nuri rocket succeeded in delivering a dummy payload: a 1.5-ton block of stainless steel and aluminium – into orbit 372 to 497 miles above the Earth.