SEOUL -- South Korea on Tuesday successfully fired its first domestically developed rocket into space as part of the country's aim to establish an independent space program.

The three-stage Nuri rocket was fired at 4 p.m. from the Naro Space Center on the southern island of Oenarodo, flying for 16 minutes to put a 1.5-ton test satellite into orbit. Nuri was initially scheduled to launch last week but was delayed because of a technical issue.

The launch comes eight months after the country failed in its first attempt to send a dummy satellite into orbit. South Korea spent 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) to develop Nuri -- a project worked on by 250 researchers from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the country's version of NASA.

South Korea has become the 10th country capable of sending a satellite into orbit with its own technology, and the seventh that can deliver a satellite weighing more than 1 ton. The country launched its first space rocket in 2013, but that was developed in cooperation with Russia.

In 1957, the Soviet Union was the first country to launch a satellite into space, followed by the U.S. in 1958. Others include the European Union, China, Japan, India, Israel, Iran and North Korea.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said that more than 300 South Korean companies participated in the Nuri project. These include aerospace and engineering companies such as Korea Aerospace Industries, Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The government said that in future, private companies will be given greater roles in developing rockets.

In August, South Korea plans to send a moon explorer, which will travel four-and-a-half months to reach the moon's orbit. The explorer named Danuri, or "enjoy the moon" in Korean, will study the moon with its high-resolution camera and other devices.