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The South Korean Ministry of National Defense announced that at 10:19 a.m. on December 1 (1:19 a.m. on December 2, Vietnam time), the country's first military reconnaissance satellite was successfully launched by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Vanderberg Space Force Base in California (USA).
Yonhap news agency quoted a statement from the South Korean Ministry of Defense as saying that the satellite was put into orbit about 4 minutes after launch and successfully contacted the ground station at 11:37 a.m. (local time).
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South Korea's first military reconnaissance satellite was successfully launched. Photo: YONHAP |
With the successful launch of its first military reconnaissance satellite, the South Korean military has secured independent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. This is a historic launch for the country. In terms of resolution and Earth monitoring capabilities… South Korea’s satellite technology ranks among the top five countries globally.
The military reconnaissance satellite will operate in an orbit 400-600km above Earth. It can detect objects as small as 30cm. The launch of the spy satellite was originally scheduled for November 30 but was delayed by two days due to bad weather.
The AP news agency reported that this is the first of five spy satellites that South Korea plans to launch into space under a contract with SpaceX. South Korea plans to launch four more synthetic aperture radar satellites by 2025 to better monitor North Korea.
The South Korean launch comes after North Korea launched its first reconnaissance satellite, the “Malligyong-1,” into orbit on November 21. The launches are expected to heat up the space arms race between the two Koreas.
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