Oct. 26, 2012: The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) is lowered from a launch pad for checking at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea. South Korea has been forced to postpone its third attempt to launch a satellite into space from its own soil because of a last-minute technical glitch. (AP Photo/Shin Jun-hee, Yonhap)
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea has been forced to postpone its third attempt to launch a satellite into space from its own soil because of a last-minute technical glitch.
South Korean space agency chief Kim Seung-jo says engineers found a gas leak in the link between the two-stage rocket and the launch pad just hours before Friday's planned lift-off.
South Korea has tried unsuccessfully two other times to launch a satellite from its own soil. In 2009, the rocket failed to deploy the satellite in orbit. In 2010, the rocket carrying the satellite exploded just two minutes after lift-off.
Kim says it will take at least another three days to try again.
The rocket's first stage was made by Russia while the second was built by South Korea.
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