The latest launch was livestreamed continued on social media platforms X and YouTube. The event took place after Seoul’s first spy satellite was put into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in December 2023.
In a statement, the Korean Ministry of National Defense Quoc said the Falcon 9 rocket was launched at 23:17 GMT on April 7. The satellite successfully separated from the launch vehicle 45 minutes later and entered the target orbit.
The ministry added that the reconnaissance satellite successfully contacted the ground station about 2 hours and 40 minutes. after launch.
South Korea’s consecutive launches of reconnaissance satellites take place in the context of a race that has opened up new steps to compete with North Korea in terms of capabilities military in space.
After two previous attempts ended in rocket crashes last November, Pyongyang said it used its own Chollima-1 launch vehicle to launch Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite into orbit.
North Korea previously announced that it would launch 3 new reconnaissance satellites in 2024.
News Agency Yonhap reported that South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik told reporters that North Korea could launch a second spy satellite as early as mid-April.
People South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Jeon Ha-gyu said in a press conference that Mr. Shin’s comments were based on the South Korean military’s observations of North Korea’s related activities.
Seoul’s second spy satellite is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capable of capturing images regardless of weather conditions thanks to sophisticated data processing.
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