Cape Canaveral: South Korea's fourth domestically developed military spy satellite has successfully been launched into orbit from the U.S. space base in Florida using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the defense ministry announced Tuesday. The launch took place at 8:48 p.m. Monday (U.S. time) from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with the satellite entering orbit at 9:03 p.m., just 15 minutes post-liftoff.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the defense ministry stated, "We plan to confirm whether the satellite operates normally through communication with a ground station." This satellite, equipped with synthetic aperture radar, is the fourth in a series of five military satellites that South Korea plans to deploy by the end of this year. These satellites are intended to enhance the country's ability to monitor North Korea and reduce its dependence on U.S. satellite imagery.
South Korea's journey into space-based reconnaissance began in December 2023 with the launch of its first spy satellite. This satellite featured electro-optical and infrared sensors capable of capturing high-resolution images. The country followed up with two more launches last year, both equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors, which provide data irrespective of weather conditions.
The upcoming launch of the fifth satellite, also equipped with SAR sensors, is scheduled for later this year. The completion of this satellite network is expected to enable South Korea to monitor North Korea every two hours, thus significantly strengthening its surveillance capabilities.