ON WEDNESDAY August 19th South Korea's attempt to launch its first rocket ended in failure, for the seventh time since 2002. Pressure on the country has been mounting since neighbouring North Korea claimed it had put a satellite into space in April this year. Most launches are made from countries with well-established space programmes. As of last year, Russia had sent 245 rockets with payloads into orbit successfully since 1999, compared with America's 218, according to data from Futron, a technology consultancy. China now surpasses Europe as a base for spacecraft launches, while India and Japan send up a few every year. Israel has also put two rockets into space.

AP