Officials in South Korea said a rocket that it sent into space carrying an observation satellite was believed to have exploded in flight. Minister of Education, Science and Technology Ahn Byong-man said officials believed the two-stage Naro rocket operated normally for 137 seconds after lift off from the country’s space centre, but then communications with the rocket were lost. Earlier, the head of the space agency, Lee Joo-jin, told reporters they were seeking ways to find the satellite, which was meant to study climate change. "137 seconds after its launch, telemetry and all communications have been lost. The altitude was about 70 kilometres and the distance was about 87 kilometres at the moment of communication disconnection. Before this point, all data were normal, so we will now seek ways to find the satellite." The rocket launch had already been delayed by one day due to malfunctioning firefighting equipment near the launch pad at the coastal Naro space centre . The rocket's launch was North Korea's second from its own territory. In the first attempt last August, the satellite failed to go into orbit because one of its covers had not come off after lift off. Since 1992, South Korea has launched 11 satellites from overseas sites, all on foreign-made rockets. The Naro rocket's first stage was designed and built by Russia and the second stage by South Korea. uk.asiancorrespondent.com