South Korea fails to put dummy satellite into orbit

South Korea failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit on Thursday after the first launch of its domestically developed three-stage Nuri rocket, the country's President Moon Jae-in announced on Thursday.

"Unfortunately, we haven't been able to reach our goal perfectly, but it was a wonderful achievement for a first trial," Moon said. "We still have an unfulfilled goal, which is sending the dummy satellite into orbit safely."

Moon said the rocket nevertheless completed all flight sequence, reaching an altitude of 700 kilometers (435 miles) above Earth, saying, "I'm very proud of it." Moon added that South Korea will launch its Nuri rocket five more times by 2027, with the next launch scheduled for next May.