Indonesia has announced it is building a rocket with a range of 125 miles as the first step toward a rocket capable of putting a satellite in orbit.
The country's National Aeronautics and Space Agency, or LAPAN, said Thursday the RX-550 rocket would undergo a static test in December and a flight test in 2012, Indonesia's official news agency ANTARA reported.
"This one, which will consist of four stages, will be part of an RPS-01 rocket to put a satellite in orbit," LAPAN spokesman Soewarto Hardhienata said.
LAPAN has successfully tested the RX-320 and RX-420 rockets whose components would be used to build the multistage RPS-01 rocket, he said.
"Besides developing home-made rockets, we are also doing a satellite making project. The aim is to have home-made rockets and satellites," Soewarto said.
LAPAN completed a project to make an earth surface monitoring satellite as part of its efforts to master satellite technology, he said.
"The result was our Polar LAPAN-TUBSAT satellite created in cooperation with Germany," he said, adding that the satellite was successfully placed in orbit.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
