S. Korea to launch 4th next-generation medium-sized satellite from US
Seoul, July 5
South Korea plans to launch its fourth medium-sized Earth observation satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, the space agency said.
The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) said the 500-kilogram satellite will be launched at 4:10 p.m. Korea time, reports Yonhap news agency.
The satellite has completed function inspections and fuel injection over the past month and is now awaiting launch aboard the Falcon 9.
It is scheduled to separate from the launch vehicle about 2 hours and 22 minutes after liftoff and make its first contact with the ground approximately 31 minutes later through the Svalbard ground station in Norway, KASA said.
The satellite carries homegrown payloads, including an observation camera capable of imaging the entire Korean Peninsula every three days.
The government expects the satellite to be used for a wide range of applications, including agriculture and forest management, forest change monitoring, disaster response, climate change analysis and public safety enhancement.
After reaching its target orbit at an altitude of about 888 kilometers, the satellite will undergo four months of initial in-orbit operations before beginning full-scale missions in the first half of next year, the agency said.
Meanwhile, South Korea aims to establish a low-Earth orbit satellite communications network composed of hundreds of satellites by 2035 and accelerate the country's first lunar landing to 2030, the state-run space agency said.
The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) unveiled the plan during a public briefing on advanced industry development held in the southeastern city of Jinju. The strategy was approved earlier in the day by the National Space Council, chaired by President Lee Jae Myung.
KASA said building the network will help strengthen South Korea's domestic satellite and launch vehicle development and manufacturing ecosystem as the country pushes to build its own version of SpaceX's Starlink network.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Impressive that they're planning their own satellite internet network by 2035 and lunar landing by 2030. But 888 km orbit? That's pretty high for Earth observation. Hope they have good propulsion systems for station-keeping. We should collaborate more with KASA - space tech cooperation between India and Korea could benefit both.
It's fascinating to see smaller nations like South Korea making such big space moves. The 3-day revisit capability over the Korean Peninsula is excellent for monitoring. However, I wonder about the cost-benefit ratio - launching 500 kg with SpaceX must be expensive. Is this really sustainable for their budget?
Ye dil maange more space cooperation! 🌏 The applications they mentioned - agriculture monitoring, forest change, disaster response - are exactly what India needs too. Our satellite constellations can do similar things, but South Korea is focusing on their own peninsula specifically. Smart targeting of resources. ISRO should take notes about this focused approach.
Interesting that they're launching from California instead of their own soil. Shows how reliant they still are on foreign launch providers despite having a space agency. Their goal of building a domestic launch vehicle ecosystem by 2035 is ambitious but necessary. Though honestly, with SpaceX dominating the market, can they compete?
South Korea's space program is growing fast! First lunar orbiter Danuri, now this, and plans for 2030 moon landing. Meanwhile, their satellite can image the entire peninsula every 3 days - that's great for monitoring North Korea too, I suppose. India has similar capabilities but with a much larger landmass to cover. Different challenges altogether.
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