The nation's third test flight of a solid-fuel space rocket led by the military is conducted on the afternoon of Dec. 4 on the southern coast of Jeju Island. (Ministry of National Defense)
By Jung Joo-ri
The Ministry of National Defense said, "Based on the solid-fuel launch vehicle and orbital entry technology under development by the Agency for Defense Development, a private company manufactured the launch vehicle and satellite and conducted the actual launch."
The launch vehicle carried a high-resolution synthetic aperture radar for Earth observation developed by Hanwha Systems. The vehicle placed the satellite into a low-altitude orbit of about 650 km.
The company said the satellite sent its first signal to a ground station at 3:45 p.m. that day and received a response from the station at 5:38 p.m. for two-way communication.
This launch was the third of its kind following the first in March last year and the second that December.
The ministry said, "Unlike the test launch in December last year that carried a dummy satellite, this successful launch marked the first time that a practical satellite was loaded and placed into orbit, successfully confirming the majority of core technologies in solid-fuel launch vehicle development including verification of the performance of each propulsion engine."
"Through this successful launch, our armed forces are a step closer to securing independent space capabilities to swiftly deploy small satellites into low-altitude Earth orbits."
etoilejr@korea.kr
