8-4-204 (SEOUL) South Korea’s defense ministry announced on Monday that the country’s second domestically developed spy satellite has successfully entered orbit following its launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the John F Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The live stream of the launch was broadcasted on social media platforms X and YouTube. This launch comes after South Korea’s first spy satellite was placed into orbit from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base in December.
According to a statement by the ministry, the Falcon 9 rocket was launched at 23:17 GMT on Sunday. Approximately 45 minutes later, the satellite successfully separated from the launch vehicle and entered its intended orbit.
About two hours and 40 minutes after the launch, the satellite established successful communications with a ground station, as confirmed by the ministry.
These consecutive launches of reconnaissance satellites by South Korea are part of the ongoing competition with North Korea to enhance military capabilities in space.
North Korea had previously experienced two failed attempts before announcing in November of last year that it had successfully utilized its own Chollima-1 launch vehicle to place the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite into orbit. The country has also stated its intention to launch three additional spy satellites in 2024.
South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik informed reporters that North Korea may launch its second spy satellite as early as mid-April, as reported by the Yonhap news agency. The statement from Shin was based on observations made by the military regarding North Korea’s related activities, according to South Korean defense ministry spokesman Jeon Ha-gyu.
South Korea’s second spy satellite is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that can generate images regardless of weather conditions due to its advanced data processing
