South Korea is set to launch its fourth next-generation medium-sized Earth observation satellite from the United States on Tuesday, as it steps up efforts to strengthen its space-based observation and communications capabilities.
According to the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), the 500-kg satellite will lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 4:10 pm Korean time. The satellite has completed final inspections and fuelling and is awaiting launch.
The satellite is expected to separate from the rocket around two hours and 22 minutes after liftoff before establishing its first contact with the Svalbard ground station in Norway about 31 minutes later.
Equipped with indigenous payloads, including a high-resolution observation camera capable of imaging the entire Korean Peninsula every three days, the satellite is expected to support agriculture, forest management, disaster response, climate change analysis and public safety.
Once it reaches its planned orbit at an altitude of around 888 km, the satellite will undergo four months of in-orbit testing before entering full-scale operations in the first half of next year.
Separately, KASA said South Korea plans to establish a low-Earth orbit satellite communications network comprising hundreds of satellites by 2035 while advancing its target of landing on the Moon by 2030.
The space agency said the constellation would strengthen the country’s satellite and launch vehicle ecosystem and support the development of a homegrown satellite internet service similar to SpaceX’s Starlink.
(IANS)
