South Korea to make new attempt to put satellite in orbit November 29, 2012 -- Updated 0611 GMT (1411 HKT) The Naro-1 blasts off on June 10, 2010, in a second failed attempt by South Korea to put a satellite in space. Previous launch attempts by South Korea failed in 2009 and 2010 Seoul says it is trying to develop its own civilian space program The planned launch may provoke a reaction from North Korea A botched launch attempt by the North in April was widely criticized Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- South Korea is expected Thursday to attempt to put a satellite in orbit using a powerful rocket, a feat it has failed to achieve on two previous occasions. The Naro-1 rocket is scheduled to take off from a launch site on the country's southern coast Thursday afternoon local time. The move could rile its hostile neighbor, North Korea, which carried out a botched launch in April for which it was widely criticized. North Korea's secretive, nuclear-armed regime said its rocket, which broke apart soon after takeoff, was also meant to put a satellite in orbit. But the United States and other countries called it a cover for testing ballistic missile technology. The U.N. Security Council condemned the launch. South Korean authorities say their latest launch is a crucial step for the development of the country's civilian space program. The satellite carried by the launch vehicle is mainly intended for gathering climate data, they say. The South Korean launch is different from that of the North because it is more transparent, is clearly focused on civilian applications and doesn't contravene U.N. sanctions, according to Lee Chung-min, an international relations professor at Yonsei University in Seoul. Despite that, North Korea is likely to "insist that a South Korean rocket launch should also be resisted by the international community," Lee said. North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency has not published any reports so far mentioning the planned South Korean launch. The development of the South Korean rocket program, using Russian technology for the first-stage launcher, began in 2002. Previous launch attempts in 2009 and 2010 failed. And this launch was originally scheduled to take place last month before being postponed at the last minute. Seoul is aiming to develop its own thruster by 2021 through a program estimated to cost 1.5 trillion won (about $1.4 billion). A successful launch Thursday would put South Korea among the small group of nations that have sent a rocket into space from their own soil. Others include the United States, Russia, China, Japan, France, India, Israel and Iran. Recent satellite imagery suggests North Korea hasn't given up on its own rocket ambitions. The image, released by the company DigitalGlobe, showed increased activity at the North's Sohae Satellite Launch Station on the country's west coast. The company's analysis of the image, which showed similar preparations to those observed ahead the failed satellite launch in April, raised the possibility of a new launch in the next few weeks. But while the U.S. government has observed activity at the North Korean site, it does not believe a launch is imminent, according to U.S. military sources. November 29, 2012 -- Updated 0511 GMT (1311 HKT)