Overview of scientific payloads onboard the KSR-III rocket

The Korea Sounding Rocket-III (KSR-III) was successfully launched on November 28, 2002 from the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. The science payload onboard the KSR-III included an ozone detector and two magnetometers along with other various sensors installed to measure physical characteristics such as temperature, pressure, strain, and acceleration. The main objective of KSR-III was to evaluate the liquid propulsion engine system which has been newly adopted in the KSR series. In addition to this main objective, the science payload conducted atmospheric soundings. The payload data were transmitted to the ground station in real time by an onboard telemetry system. The UV radiometer measured the direct solar UV radiation and during the ascending phase the vertical ozone density profile was obtained. This result was compared with coincident measurements taken by other satellites, a ground station, and an ozonesonde. A fluxgate-type magnetometer was onboard the KSR-III to observe the Earth's DC magnetic field and for AC field measurements, a search-coil magnetometer was installed. This was the first Korean mission to use magnetometers on a rocket-borne platform to measure the Earth's magnetic field. Using the telemetry magnetometer data, a study on the rocket attitude was carried out. This paper will give an overview of the design, calibration, and test results of the science payload onboard the KSR-III.