South Korea to launch Earth observation satellite from US in July

South Korea plans to launch an Earth observation satellite from the US in July, the country's space agency said Thursday.

The next-generation medium satellite No. 4 is scheduled to be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The satellite will be used for agricultural monitoring and forest resource observation.

It will be transported to the launch site starting next month.

The satellite is the fourth of its kind developed under a South Korea-led initiative to standardize a versatile 500-kilogram (1,102-pound) Earth-observation platform.