South Korea today launched [3] a weather satellite into space using a three-stage rocket. The mission of KSLV-1 has, so far, been a success, said Science Minister Lee Ju-Ho, and said his country had become a member of the "space-power nation" club. What its nasty neighbor to the North thinks of the mission, however, has yet to be documented. The rogue state launched a satellite via its own three-stager [4] at the end of 2012, but with mixed results [5] and is currently involved [6] in the usual war of words [7] with the South and United States.

At 5 p.m. local time, the Naro rocket, built in partnership with Russia, blasted off from the launchpad of the Naro Space Center. Nine minutes later, Science and Technology Satellite-2C detached successfully, although until the spacecraft makes contact with its ground station, some 12 hours after launch, it will not be considered a total success.

[Image by Flickr user diongillard [8]]